The Nether Queen
by FirstFandomFangirl
Summary: Herobrine's sway over the mobs of Minecraft is wavering, as more and more reject him as their God and king. His attempts to win them back failing, he decides that clearly the problem is that he is missing a queen. And Heather, an unremarkable high school student, has been chosen for the role - not that she gets any choice. Based loosely on the Gods Don't Bleed series by Dillongoo.
1. Chapter 1

**(One vote for yes)**

**my public has spoken**

**so uh, as it turns out, x reader fanfics are actually illegal on this site. so I had to give reader an actual name. also, I originally wrote this in present tense, but for simplicity's sake I'm changing it to past tense. kindly ignore tense errors I may make.**

**and finally, if you're one of my regular readers and you're thinking "hmm, should I read this? i'm not really in this fandom", good news! i'm mostly making up my own lore. according to me 2 readers it's good lore.**

**anyway leave me reviews plz & thanks**

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"Mortgages." She mumbled under her breath. "Extended mortgages. Extended mortgages can be calculated by taking the portion, multiplying by the rate, and…" Heather trailed off, distracted by voices from below her. "Ugh." With a huff, she made another attempt to absorb the text, but the page's meaning eluded her once more.

"Alright, fine." She snapped the book shut. "I'll read this later." Pushing the $600 textbook away, she flipped over on her back to stare at the ceiling. Easiest math class or not, Business Math was hard.

Especially, she noted mournfully to herself, as a high school student as well. At the young age of 16, as a straight-As student in her local high school, Heather had been given the wonderful opportunity to start taking some college classes early, letting her get a degree sooner.

Unfortunately, this was on top of all her other classes- and she wasn't given a choice in the matter. Her parents, bless their hearts, just wanted her to succeed, and had strongly pressured her to go through with it.

Which was how she ended up here, on the floor of her room, head pillowed on a far-too-expensive binder as she pondered the meaninglessness of long term interest on real estate loans.

With a groan, she picked herself up off the floor and ran a hand through her hair. Needed washed. First, though, she dragged herself over to her desktop, seating herself on the well-worn chair and tapping the mouse to wake it up. Clicking on the browser icon, her eyes strayed to the Minecraft icon before she sat back with a sigh to grab her textbook. Math first, Minecraft after.

57 excruciating minutes later, the lesson was over and done with, and she was pretty sure she hadn't bombed the test. Now time for a bit of well-deserved mining.

"Heather!" A shout from downstairs made her grimace, and she spun around in her chair.

"Yes, mom?"

"Did you eat something?"

"Yep, I ate when I got home." Another white lie, but she didn't have the appetite. All she wanted to do now was unwind.

"Okay. Make sure you turn off the lights soon."

"Okay mom." She turned back to the screen and booted up Mojang's classic. Clicking her way into her single player world, she picked up where she left off - strip mining the area below her base and marking the location of diamonds.

Strip mining, while fairly efficient and simple, was time consuming and dull. Before long, she was back on the surface to check on her crops and animals, just as the sun peeked over the horizon. She took a minute to clear out burning mobs, then harvested her mature wheat and fed the cows and sheep.

The sugarcane was ready to harvest, she noted, but as she turned towards the lake her base sat on she spotted a figure out of the corner of her eye.

Immediately, she turned back - but it was gone. She assumed it must have been a zombie, under the shelter of one of the trees bordering the other side of her base. Probably despawned in the instant she looked away, cheeky thing.

She hurried to harvest the sugarcane and turn it into paper, stacking it in a chest to be turned into books and bookshelves later. That fortune III pickaxe was becoming more and more of a reality every day.

That said, this phase of a playthrough was always the most boring. The initial power build-up out of the way, but too weak to take on the End, she was left waiting for crops to grow so she could level up her enchantment table to get diamonds faster and get a full set of diamond armor. After all, it was just inefficient to get them now, with only one drop per block of ore.

Finally, she decided to farm some blazes. More dust for her brewing station was always handy, and she'd need some for eyes of ender. With this goal in mind, and a couple fire resistance potions safely in her inventory, she ventured through her Nether portal.

Although it wasn't a long walk to her marked Nether Fortress, the journey felt somehow off. She'd walked this path many times before, but something seemed different about it. Maybe that zombie, which she could swear she kept seeing right in the corner of her eye.

She shrugged it off. Technically, zombies COULD spawn in the Nether.

It's not until she caught a glimpse of the "zombie"'s face, however, that she quickly retracted those assumptions. Those were not zombie eyes.

Heart pounding, Heather hightailed it back to the overworld. That was Herobrine. That was most definitely Herobrine. She'd never seen him before, and didn't ever expect to. He was debunked, wasn't he? She paused for a second to check and make sure there's no possibility that another player could have connected. Nope. LAN was off. Herobrine was real.

She'd heard the legends before, but, who hadn't? Notch's dead brother, a glitch in the code, a player sucked into the game, she'd heard those and more. Apparently one of them was true. Or she was being very elaborately pranked, but she didn't really have any friends who would do that.

She mused over this new piece of info over a stack of steak. Herobrine was real, and was apparently watching her. She'd never noticed him before, so either he only just started watching her or he just started deciding to let her see him. The information on what Herobrine actually DID was scattered, there were many stories about his true intentions. From a godlike griefer to the savior of the world, the legend of Herobrine had many, many sides to it.

...or maybe he didn't do anything. Maybe all he did was watch you from afar, add a bit of a creepy factor to the game. Maybe slipped into the latest snapshot. Honestly, Heather, she scolded herself. Getting so worked up over a little blank-eyed block man.

She played a bit more, but still felt uneasy. She was sure Herobrine was somewhere in the overworld, just out of sight. If she remembered correctly, he could teleport, harness lightning, and maybe shapeshift. And he liked redstone torches.

She continued farming for a bit, expanding her wheat fields for convenience, before finally logging off. It was just a bit too much for her right now. But, she noted as she got ready for bed, that uneasiness didn't go away. She still felt like she was being watched. But the computer was off, and minecraft definitely so. Herobrine, while slightly creepy, was nothing but a few lines of code.

She slept with the closet light on that night.

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Heather awoke to a soft touch, and let out a confused hum. Was it morning already? A hand cupped her face, and she opened her eyes, only for her heart to stop beating as they met the pair of glowing ones inches above her.

"Good morning… my queen."

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**yeah it gets better I promise shh **

**~FFF**


	2. Chapter 2

**eyyy I already have more reviews than I ever got on wattpad**

**Uh yeah so, this fic is published on Wattpad as an -x reader fic under the same name (but under a different author because I was Hiding) and it's updated to I think the 15th chapter, so if you absolutely can't wait for more content go check it out on wattpad :)**

**review replies:**

**GiggiEba: Fortunately for you, new content should come out fairly regularly, considering I've already written a bunch and just need to change tenses!**

**JustAFemaleGeek: Yeah it... doesn't get much worse than that. Except maybe spiders.**

**minecraftfan: I haven't actually ever played Roblox, nor do I know anything about it, so... I don't think that's gonna happen, sorry x'D**

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Heather swore profusely and rolled to her left, throwing herself off the bed and onto the floor.

She scrambled to her feet again as quick as she could, lifting her arm in case she needed to protect herself, but the eyes - now the only source of light in the room - didn't move. They just watched her.

"Who are you?" She asked, pleased to find that her voice was strong. Not showing fear was always pretty handy when one's house was being invaded by a man with flashlight eyes. At least, probably a man? Whoever it was had a deep voice.

"I believe you know the answer to that question." The voice was low and silky-smooth, and the eyes never moved. Why was he so still? And what the heck did the "queen" comment mean?

"I, uh… do not." She shifted, glancing around the room for anything she could use as a weapon. Maybe her math textbook, it was heavy, but she didn't remember where exactly she left it and it was too dark to find right now.

"Calm yourself, I am not here to hurt you." He probably could see her a lot better than she could see him, whatever kind of flashlight-headlamp-mask he had on nearly blinded her whenever she tried to look in his direction.

"Then why are you here?"

"To take you back with me." Heather tried very hard not to panic. A kidnapper? Why her?!

"Why?" She managed.

"To be my queen."

"Okay, yeah, you mentioned that, but I'm still confused, and I don't have any idea who you are, so- so-" Any air of intimidation she may have had was lost as she began to stammer. "So can you please explain?" Silence, then a chuckle rang out in the darkness of her room. It didn't even sound sinister, just… amused.

"Give me your hand." A hand lifted into the light from the eyes, large and calloused. Who was this person? He acted like he knew her, but didn't remind her of anyone she could think of...

"I…" She paused. Was it worth resisting? He must have some sort of weapon, he wouldn't just break into her house without any sort of plan. "...okay." She reached out and took the hand. He gripped hers gently, and chuckled again.

This is it, Heather thought. She was going to disappear into a forced marriage and never see her friends or family again. All that hard work studying for nothing, straight As wouldn't mean a thing to whatever arabian tribe she was forcibly married into. She just hoped her parents fed her pets, and maybe had a memorial for her or something. And that her friends didn't move on too quickly. And maybe that-

The dark room around Heather vanished, and she found herself in a bright field.

Immediately, her eyes snapped shut at the light. "What the heck?" She mumbled, snatching her arm back and rubbing at her eyes. After a few moments, she peeked up to see long grass waving in the slight breeze, a forest at the far end of the field. She could hear birdsong and the sound of water rushing, and she could smell the pollen in the air. She sneezed.

Finally, she turned to her kidnapper, and stared blankly at him for a good few seconds. He was taller than her by a good amount, maybe 6 and a half feet tall? And he didn't have any sort of headlamp or flashlight - those were just his eyes. His eyes were glowing. He wore a dark green-blue shirt with jeans that were scuffed at the knees, and had dark brown hair that curled around his ears. Dark stubble completed the look, and…

"You're Herobrine." She said aloud. He nodded, his face neutral. Heather, on the other hand, broke into relieved laughter. "Oh gosh, it's okay! Man I was nervous." She spun around to admire the scenery. Clouds floated lazily past in the breeze, and she could see wildflowers bobbing their heads in the tall grass.

"Your relief is mildly unexpected, given your reaction earlier this night." Herobrine spoke behind her.

"I would be way more freaked out if this wasn't a dream." Was her response. She started to wander towards the far end of the field, towards the trees. "Is this Minecraft? Are we in Minecraft?"

"Heather." Her name made her stop and turn. The man behind you looked slightly more annoyed than he had a moment ago. "This is not a dream."

"That's exactly what a buff Herobrine in my dream would say." She'd obviously been way overthinking this Herobrine thing before she went to sleep, and was now dreaming of a weird encounter of him… mixed with a romantic fantasy, maybe? She couldn't think of any other way to explain him being totally hot and not just a block man.

"This is not a dream." He repeated, stepping towards her and taking her arm in one of his huge hands.

"Yeah it is." She responded stubbornly. She refused to believe anything else. This just wasn't possible.

"Very well. Believe what you wish." Herobrine pulled her towards him, and the scenery changed again in a flash, the sunny sky and field replaced by reddish rock lit by hellfire.

"Whoa!" His grip on her tightened as she yelped, eyes flitting around what must be the Nether. Lava flowed lazily down a slope beside her, and zombie pigmen wandered aimlessly around on the plains of netherrack. They looked significantly more scary now, now that they looked like actual people.

Herobrine released her arm, then took a step forward, beckoning her with him. She followed. After all, why not?

The Minecraft legend lead her up to the top of a hill, where a giant castle came into view. His house, probably. Her legs were starting to burn from the climb, and she frowned down at her bare feet. Why could she feel it so clearly? She couldn't normally feel such things in dreams, even vivid ones.

"Coming?" Herobrine was watching her, and she scrambled to catch up, wincing as a sharp pebble bit into the bottom of her foot. Pain, while not unheard of in her dreams, was rare. She shook her foot to remove it and kept following.

He took her through the front gate of his castle, which was guarded by now-humanoid Wither skeletons. They gave the two of them a respectful nod as they passed, and she nodded back. It's only polite, after all.

"I must say, I expected more resistance." There was no emotion in Herobrine's voice. "To be stolen from one life and thrust into another is not one many take lightly."

"Mmhmm." She heard him, but didn't really register his words, examining the inside of the courtyard. Lava ran through channels in the ground with bridges over them, and she shuddered at the thought of falling into it. Not fun in a dream with pain.

Herobrine walked her into the main building, which was decorated with gold and diamonds. Herobrine was rich. What did he need a queen for, and why her? Not that it mattered, dreams didn't always make sense, but… still a weird setting.

Heather's legs were getting tired by the time she made it up a first staircase, and she let out a breath at the sight of a second. Why couldn't he just teleport the two of them wherever they're going?

"Do you require assistance?" Herobrine rumbled from the top of the staircase, and she shrugged.

"Wouldn't mind it." In the blink of an eye, he was beside her, and the moment he touched her she was at the top of the stairs. Trippy.

"This is your room." His deep voice informed her as he gestured to a pair of doors. "You are permitted to move around within the manor, but you are not allowed to leave the courtyard. My guards have been ordered to detain you if they find you outside, so I would advise not attempting to escape."

"Okay." She felt the slightest twinge of panic, but she shoved it back down. Just a dream.

"Our wedding will commence in three days time. Until then, familiarize yourself with the manor. It is your home from now on." And then he was gone. Not a sound, he just vanished. She glanced around reflexively, then turned to examine the doors pointed out to her. She poked one, and the hinges squeaked in protest as it opened a few inches. New room, huh?

The high-schooler spent a few minutes investigating the room that she'd been assigned. It was well-decorated in the theme of the rest of the manor, with gold and diamond accents and netherbrick walls. There was a double bed against the wall with a golden frame, with soft red sheets that were comfortingly cool to the touch against the hellfire-lit rest of the Nether.

A wardrobe stood against one wall with what looked like a double chest next to it, which contained, she soon found, leather armor. The wardrobe was empty, but was big enough to hold plenty of clothing. There was also a bathroom connected to the room. How thoughtful.

Finished with her room, she decided to explore, and spent the next hour or so milling around the manor. A lot of rooms were empty or unused, but she did find the kitchen, a dining hall, an armory, and a storage room filled with chests. She wanted to poke around in them, but they were locked. Oh well.

There were quite a few mobs roaming the castle, mostly Wither skeletons and pigmen. All a little bit horrifying, but they mostly ignored her, and those who didn't just nodded at her and moved on. Regardless, it wasn't like they could hurt her. It was just a dream.

Finally, she got tired of exploring and returned to her bedroom. She hadn't seen Herobrine at all since he disappeared. Maybe he was in the overworld? Or really, he could be anywhere in the world but where she was.

Arriving at her bedroom, she curled up in the sheets fully clothed and pondered feeling tired in a dream. Would she dream in this dream? Regardless, when she woke up tomorrow morning, she'd be home. This, she knew for certain.

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**well someone's awfully confident**

**~FFF**


	3. Chapter 3

**someone tell me to stop editing fanfiction and do my homework that I've put off for almost 2 weeks**

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Heather woke up to the sounds of voices below her and sighed, curling up tighter in her blankets. Her alarm hadn't gone off yet, it couldn't be time to get up. She focused on going back to sleep, but the voices below her were loud and insistent. Were her parents fighting about something?

As she listened, though, she felt her blood run cold. Those weren't her parents' voices. One of them sounded familiar - cold, smooth, deep. They sounded just like the voice of a man she had met last night.

Her head jerked up, and she stared blankly at her surroundings. She was still in the room. Out the iron bars that made up her window, she could see a ghast's silhouette floating past a lavafall. She was not home.

Okay, calm down, she told herself as she pressed her hands to her face. It's okay, dreams were long sometimes. It wasn't real.

"I trust you slept well?" Heather let out a shriek at the sudden voice, and she looked up to see Herobrine standing in front of her (closed) door.

"I- you-" She stammered. Couldn't he at least knock?

"I suppose you are coming to terms with your situation." His face looked almost sympathetic for a moment. "Your permissions are the same as they were yesterday. Do not disobey them or you will be punished." And he was gone.

Mind racing, she dropped her head into her hands again. Was this real? Had she been kidnapped by a God of Minecraft who was forcing her to marry him? Her stomach rumbled, and she shuddered. Feeling hunger was just another sign that this was real.

It couldn't be, she protested, but that little voice in the back of her head was getting louder and louder. Even though this was absolutely impossible, she'd been kidnapped by a video game creepypasta and was going to be forced to marry him in two days. There's no way this could be real, but there's no way it couldn't either. It was just… too real.

Heather choked back a sob. What about her family? Her friends? What about school, what about her dreams? Would she see any of them ever again? Would she be doomed to haunt this castle like a mournful phantom for eternity?!

A tear trailed down her cheek and she gave up, crying into cupped palms. Everyone she ever knew and loved was gone, replaced by cold-hearted undead, and - and whatever Herobrine was. She wasn't even allowed to leave this castle, much less meet any other players. Were they even real? What was this place?!

"Heather." Herobrine's voice startled her once more, and a large hand gripped her shoulder. "I understand you are unhappy. But you are safe here. You do not need to worry."

"That's not- it's not that!" She protested through tears. "M-my family, my home, wh-what about them? I m-miss them!"

"Regrettably, you are a vital piece of my plan."

"What plan?!"

"All will be made clear in time." The hand left her shoulder, but she continued.

"And I- I can't marry you! I'm a kid! I'm 16, and you're- you're- I don't know how old you are, but it's older than I am!"

"You do not have much of a choice in the matter. The ceremony will be completed regardless of your approval." He paused. "And I am immortal. I have existed for many, many years. Your age does not matter to me."

"It does matter to me!" She sputtered through tears. "I can't- I won't- oh, I hate you!"

"You are not the first." The room felt warmer suddenly, and she glanced up to find him gone. She sniffled, then buried her face in her pillow. He was too strong, there's no way she could escape. There was nothing she could do now but mourn the passing of her chance at a normal life.

* * *

"And do you, Heather Driemor, take this man, Herobrine, to be your lawfully wedded husband?" Heather blinked, then nodded numbly. "By the power vested in me, I pronounce the two of you husband and wife." The witch declared, snapping shut the book in his hands. She could hear polite applause from behind her, and saw her husband moving to face them out of the corner of her eye, but she didn't move. She couldn't think of a single reason she'd want to face this crowd.

Two days had passed since the revelation that this was real, and, as he promised, he had married her. He'd given her a simple white dress to wear for the ceremony, and he was in all black. Apparently that was all he was willing to do to make this day special.

He'd informed her beforehand that she was not required to act the part of his wife except in public. So he did plan to let her leave the manor every now and then, but just to be a pawn. She'd otherwise stay in her room and do nothing, basically.

There was no reception for the wedding, and as soon as it was over he was gone again. He hadn't even kissed her. He was quite possibly the worst husband she could ask for.

Several days passed. Heather become more familiar with her new home, appropriating some of the empty rooms for her own in a vain attempt to add some sort of enrichment to her life. She even tried to befriend some of the Wither skeleton guards, but their speech was rattling and distorted and she could barely understand them.

Her husband was almost never there, the most she saw of him was him occasionally conversing with his minions, but whenever she tried to question him about her role in his plot he simply ignored her and disappeared. He did provide her with clothing, food, water, soap, etc., but apparently he believed that's all that was required to earn his wife's respect.

So, Heather resigned herself to her fate. She was miserable, lonely, bored out of her mind and homesick, but there was nothing she could do. How could she escape a man who could appear beside her with no warning in a moment's notice?

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**F**

**~FFF**


	4. Chapter 4

**gosh translating this takes fOrevEr**

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The monotony of Heather's life was interrupted by a trail of blood leading through the hallway she found herself wandering in.

The human girl blinked numbly at the fresh, crimson blood soaking into the dark red carpet. That wasn't her blood, not last time she checked, and the Wither skeletons didn't have blood. That left the zombie pigmen, and…

It had been two weeks now since her wedding, and she'd still seen very little of her husband. Out of sheer boredom, she'd resorted to living in a sort of fantasy world, with herself and some imaginary friends. Loneliness and homesickness would do that to a gal. However, the blood shocked her out of her reverie, and she clapped a hand over her mouth and nose. She could smell the blood in the air, coppery and stale. She had to find out where it was coming from.

Heather started down the hall, but stopped. Was it any of her responsibility? Even if it was her hus- her kidnapper's blood, so what? He could bleed. Maybe he deserved it.

She followed the trail anyway.

The blood lead her up a flight of stairs and to a pair of ornate doors, which were on the same floor as her room. Maybe his room…? She knocked lightly on the door, and a gruff voice responded.

"Do not enter."

"Hello?" Heather leaned closer to the door, but didn't hear anything.

"Heather, return to your room." Definitely him. She took a step back, but hesitated.

"What's happening? There's a lot of blood on the ground…"

"I said leave." She backed up more, but frowned. He was obviously hurt. Could she overpower him, possibly…? Maybe force him to bring her back home? Anger and determination bubbled up inside her, and she stepped forward and slammed the doors open - only to stop short at the sight in front of her.

Her husband was sitting on the floor against a bed, blood soaking the carpet around him. He turned to look at her, his face cold, but she focused instead on one of his eyes, swollen shut. His blood-soaked shirt was laying on the ground next to him, and there was a huge gash across his chest. He was covered in blood.

"Herobrine!" Heather exclaimed, but he lifted a hand, electricity crackling in his palm.

"Do not come any closer."

"But you're- you're bleeding all over!?" She protested, hovering anxiously in the doorframe.

"I will deal with it." He snapped, showing the most emotion she'd ever seen in him. Heather backed out through the door, but kept watching him. He gave her a wary glance before turning away, saying something in a language she didn't understand, and she heard a sound behind her, turning only to scream and scramble back into the door.

The creature must be an Enderman - she hadn't seen any until now - and they were scary enough as blocks, as humanoids they were terrifying. They looked like Slenderman - obviously - but totally black with shimmering purple eyes.

"Take her back to her room." Herobrine ordered as she covered her face with her hands. She knew better than to look an Enderman in the eyes.

A cold hand touched her arm, and she felt the ground underneath her shift accompanied by the sound of teleporting. She peeked up after a couple of moments to find herself alone in her bedroom, and she shivered, rubbing her arm where the Enderman had touched her. That was, unfortunately, the most exciting thing that had happened to her since she arrived.

How did Herobrine get so badly hurt? She didn't even know he could bleed, much less take that much damage! What the heck was he doing that got him so beat up?!

Whatever his big plan was, it was something dangerous - and from the looks of it she was going to be a part of it. He'd promised her that she'd be safe, but if he let himself get that beat up…

A knock sounded on her door, and Heather looked up.

"Come in?" She called, and the door opened to reveal an Enderman - most likely the one that just brought her there - and she quickly looked down. He teleported beside her, making her flinch, then set a folded piece of paper on the floor next to her. A message? From Herobrine, maybe? Hesitantly, she picked it up and unfolded it, but quickly realized the words scrawled on it were unreadable. They almost looked… mirrored.

The Enderman let out a string of garbled words, and gestured to the mirror against one wall. Keeping her head down, Heather stumbled to her feet, making her way over to the mirror and facing the note to it.

"My master wishes to inform you that you are confined to your room until two days from now. Your meals will be delivered to you at regular intervals." She scowled. She was only trying to help! After the initial wanting to attack him, of course. He couldn't read her mind… could he? "By the way, you are permitted to look me in the eyes. I will not attack you." Ah. Hesitantly, she turned, glancing up at the creature's face. He had no visible mouth or nose, just neon purple eyes that tracked her every move.

"Hey." She said, willing her voice not to shake. "Can you understand me?" The Enderman gave her a thumbs-up with his long, thin fingers, and she couldn't help but giggle. "Thanks… for delivering this." She folded the paper up again, and clasped her hands awkwardly behind her back. She couldn't help but feel like she was being scrutinized.

The Enderman stared at her for a few moments more before nodding to her and disappearing in a flash of violet. She let out a breath, then curled up on her bed. At the very least, maybe she had someone she could talk to now.

* * *

The next day was even more mind-numbingly dull than normal. Confined to her room with nothing to do except talk to herself, the minutes crawled by at a snail's pace. Heather wished someone would come visit her, maybe the Enderman, but she wouldn't even mind Herobrine coming if it only gave her something else to do. A Wither skeleton delivered food every few hours, but she knew better than to even try to hold a conversation with them.

The second day, however, Heather hadn't been awake for five minutes when an explosion rocked the castle.

She sat bolt upright in bed, scrambling to the window to see what was going on. She could see pigmen running past on the ground, and heard ghasts shrieking as they hurled fireballs at something out of sight. She briefly saw a figure in blue - Herobrine? He often wore black, though - but they vanished around the edge of the castle before she could get a good look.

Another explosion rocked the floor beneath her, and she backed up, climbing back into bed and hiding under the covers. Was the castle being attacked? And she wasn't allowed to leave… she would, if she was attacked, try to escape, but for now she could only hope whoever was invading the castle didn't come here.

She hid in her bed for a good hour, listening all the while to explosions, ghasts screaming, and pigmen squealing. After a while, the sounds seemed to get quieter, and she wondered if it might be safe, but immediately after she heard an Enderman's dying scream down the hall. She shivered, hoping it wasn't the one she met yesterday. She liked him.

Heavy footsteps were coming down the hall towards her, and she scrambled out of bed, climbing into her wardrobe and shutting herself inside. Just in time, too, as she heard her room doors slam open and hit the wall.

Heather focused on keeping her breaths silent as the footsteps entered her room, then stopped. Then the wardrobe door was yanked open and she let out a shriek.

"Hey!" The figure in her room was dressed head to toe in shimmering, blue armor, and had a matching sword in his hand. "Sorry, I- I don't know what I expected, but it definitely wasn't to find a kid here." She looked up at his face through his helmet, and his eyes were kind. "Are you okay?"

"I- yeah, I'm fine." She stammered. Full diamond armor. And enchanted too, from the looks of it.

"Are you the owner of this castle?"

"No- that's- I'm-" She swallowed. "I'm the owner's wife." The man blinks.

"How old are you?"

"16. I'm- I'm Heather." She slipped out of the wardrobe, backing up a couple feet to put some distance between them. "I kinda got kidnapped and forcibly married to Herobrine." The words spilled out. She just wanted to get out of there.

"What?!" The man glanced at the door. "Are you serious? I'm going to kill that bast-"

"He hasn't hurt me." She interrupted hurriedly. "He's almost never around. I don't know where he is now."

"I- come with me. We're getting out of here." The man offered her a hand, and she took it without hesitation. Anything to get out of that castle. "My name's Steve, by the way." He added as he lead her out into the hall. Heather nearly stumbled. Steve.

"Stay behind me." He ordered, drawing a bow as he lead her down the hall. She obeyed, releasing his hand and trailing behind him. A Wither skeleton came into view, but an arrow slammed into its' skull an instant later and it crumbled into dust. Steve drew another arrow, and beckoned her closer. "I took out a lot of mobs in the way in. This shouldn't be too difficult."

"Unless Herobrine figures out you're here." She mumbled, but followed. Steve glanced back at her, his face grim, then started down the stairs.

Steve lead her down through the manor, and she noticed the addition of some torches that weren't there before. Occasionally he was attacked, but he always dispatched his assailants with ease. She was starting to wonder if she might actually get out of there.

As they approached the exit of the courtyard, however, a deep voice behind them stopped her in her tracks.

"I do not take kindly to my queen being stolen from me." She spun around to see her husband standing a couple feet behind her, and she scrambled back to get behind Steve.

"Herobrine." Steve snarled. "You've sunk to a new low, haven't you?" Her husband was showing no signs of the injuries she had seen on him a couple days before, except for a bandage peeking out from under one sleeve. Was he still hurt…?

"Heather, come here." Herobrine commanded, but she just shrunk back a bit farther. Could Steve beat him? He wouldn't be able to get her home, but it would be better than being trapped there.

"I won't." She snapped back. "I refuse to be trapped here anymore."

"You don't understand. You are held here for you own safety."

"Safety from who, Steve? He rescued me!" She heard a noise behind her, and turned to see more mobs approaching the gate She nudged Steve to warn him, and he glanced behind her and groaned.

"Let her go." He ordered, spinning around to extend his sword at Herobrine. "What do you even want her for?"

"That is none of your concern." A pickaxe materialized in his hand. He was ready to fight Steve to get her back, she realized, triggering a pang of fear. What if Herobrine won? What would he do to her?

"Steve, w-wait," She started, but Herobrine suddenly focused on the mobs behind her and took a step back.

"Close the gate!" He shouted, and the portcullis behind her slammed shut. Heather spun around at the loud noise to see the mobs outside - giant spiders, zombies, skeletons, endermen, all kinds - start to attack the walls and gate. "Heather, come here. Now." Out of sheer fright, she obeyed, leaving Steve and running to Herobrine's side. Steve backed away from the gate as well, turning to look at the two of them with one eyebrow raised.

"Have a bit of a rebellion on your hands, don't you?"

"Leave now if you want to live." Herobrine responded curtly. "Heather, get into the manor. You will be safe in there."

"But Steve-"

"-will respawn, get inside." Herobrine pointed to the manor, and she obeyed, running back towards the building. Steve stared after her, then turned to her husband said something, but he was too far away for her to hear him.

She fled through the front doors and took a right into a sitting room, where she parked herself by the window and watched what was going on in the courtyard. Her husband was already surrounded with Wither skeletons and zombie pigs, ready to defend him. He was in a battle stance, and, as she watched, a bolt of lightning struck the gate from his hand and electrified every mob touching it. Steve was gone.

"Heather!" She spun around to see the armored man standing behind her. "Come on, let's get out while he's distracted."

"But- but there's no other way out of the castle." She stammered as he took her hand and pulled her away from the window.

"I saw a Nether portal in the basement earlier. We can get out through there." He lead her out of the room, but was forced to let go of her and raise his shield as an Enderman attacked him.

"Steve!" She exclaimed, but the Enderman was focused on her, grabbing her arm and teleporting. She stumbled as it shoved her towards her bed, snapped at her in its' backwards language, then teleported away. She let out a shaky breath, letting her head fall back onto the mattress. Steve… would the Enderman kill him? Herobrine said he would respawn, but… and on that subject, what about her husband? Why were the mobs attacking him, didn't he rule them?

Heather hated this uncertainty, but all she could do was sit there and hope they both won their battles.

* * *

**I finished my homework, but now I have more, so I'm gonna... go do that before I work on the next chapter.**

**~FFF**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay actually, this one took like 15 minutes. chapter 4 was just Long.**

* * *

Herobrine returned several hours later, wounded and bleeding, but intact.

She was informed by the Enderman who brought her back that she was, in fact, allowed to leave her room now that the attack was over. She didn't, though. She didn't want to see her husband any more that day, mainly just because she was overwhelmed over everything that had happened.

Steve was almost certainly dead. There was very little chance Herobrine let him make it out alive after he tried to rescue her again. Would he try to come back? He probably wouldn't bother, after losing all his items here. After all, he barely knew her.

Her sleep was dreamless that night, and when she woke up there was a note lying at the

end of her bed. When she examined it, she found a message from Herobrine, written in flowing cursive.

"Heather,

I realize that you may be alarmed and confused by yesterday's events. I apologize for not explaining it to you beforehand. Please find time today to stop by my room, and I will tell you why you have been brought here.

Regards,

Herobrine"

Her heart pounded as she absorbed the information on the sheet of paper. It was… honestly about time someone told her what was going on, but this was a rather abrupt change on his part. Could it be a trap…? Regardless, she didn't think he would take kindly to her refusing, so she resolved to comply, got dressed, and headed downstairs for breakfast.

Neither Steve nor Herobrine were anywhere to be found, so she spent the morning in an empty room thinking. Noon approached - according to the clocks, at least, as there was obviously no visible difference in the Nether - and she ate again before heading upstairs to meet with her husband. The bloodstains, she noted, were almost invisible. Maybe that was exactly the purpose of the reddish-brown carpet.

She made her way up to his bedroom, and knocked timidly on the doors. There was no response, and she knocked again, louder. Still nothing. She hesitated for a moment, then pushed the door open to reveal an empty room, lit by the soft light of glowstone scattered around on the walls and ceiling.

"Herobrine?" She called softly, glancing around the room. The bed was pristine, as were the carpets. There was no sign of the gory mess she saw just a couple days ago.

"Come in." She jumped at the soft voice, and turned to see a pair of glowing eyes watching her from the corner. She knew he wasn't there a second ago. Silently, she slipped through the doorway, shutting the doors behind her before turning back to her husband.

"Sit down." He stepped out of the corner and sat on the edge of the bed, his movements so robotic that he barely creased the sheets. Carefully, as it felt almost presumptuous to make noise in such a still and quiet place, she crossed the room and sat down a half a foot to his left.

"You are aware of my status as ruler of the mobs." He began, eyes focused on the wall in front of him. "Therefore I'm sure you are wondering why the manor was attacked by such a large number of them yesterday." She nodded. That's exactly what she'd been wondering. "The answer is that a large portion of my kingdom have lost their faith in me. They discovered I am not the God I claimed to be." Duh. She knew that. "As such, they seek to replace me as their ruler."

"Why?" Heather broke in without thinking. "Did you do something to them?"

"I… no, they simply believe that they no longer have to obey me." He shifted slightly. "I had hoped having a queen would help solidify my position as their king. So far it has not worked."

"Well to be fair," She interrupted once more. "Do they even know I exist?"

"I have made it clear."

"Still, they haven't ever seen me. Except those ones that tried to break into the castle." She paused. "And what difference would it make? Why would just being married make them more likely to obey you?"

"They discovered I am not a God, and as such decided I am not a suitable king. Unable to convince them otherwise, I went in search of other ways to solidify my position."

"That won't work." She protested. "If they're mad at you for lying, then shouldn't you be trying to regain their trust?"

"It is not the deception that caused them to lose faith in me, simply the revelation that I am not entitled to be their leader."

"So… maybe you should-"

"Heather." He interrupted. "I asked you to come here so I could explain the situation to you - not so that you could attempt to solve my problems."

"Well sorry." She huffed. "It's kinda my business, though - since you're a target and I'm your wife, I'm a target too."

"I know. That is why I promised to protect you." He looked at her for the first time, then raised an eyebrow, and Heather froze as he reached up and cupped her face with one hand, sending an unexpected rush of tingles through her. "You're pale." He stated. "Your eyes are sunken. Have you been sleeping?"

"I- yeah." She stammered. "I mean, what else do I have to do all day?"

"Are you ill?"

"I don't think so."

"Hmm." He let go of her, rubbing his chin - a surprisingly human gesture. "Ah, you need sunlight."

"Sunlight?" He… was right, though that hadn't occurred to her. "Oh yeah, Nether."

"Come with me." He offered her a hand, pulling her to her feet when she took it. The room around her changed in a flash, and she blinked in the sudden sunlight streaming through a window on the far side of the room. She looked around in surprise to see a bedroom like the one she had just left, but built with wood and stone bricks. Through a glass window, she could see long grass surrounding a beaten path.

"Where-" She started, but her husband interrupted her, apparently having anticipated her question.

"This is a country mansion far from the access point in my Nether manor. You should not be found here." He followed her gaze to the window, and - amazingly - smiled. "You are free to roam the grounds. However, I cannot guarantee your safety from mobs. I will send an Enderman to guard you and keep you from going too far."

"You're going back?" She turned back to him, trying to mask the hopefulness in her voice. He nodded.

"I must take care of my troops. ḍ̴͂̈́͋ȅ̶͕̭̓̈͗̍̈͋̍̃̕͠͝r̴̬͎̬̖͈͂̃̑͛͊̋͌̓f̶̛͔̦̠̹̼̺̈́̆͛͛̃̆́̔͊̑̀̐͠͠ň̸̛̼̙̰̘̊̓̃̈͂̈́̾̍̕ä̶̻̱̖̼̖̪͙̪̟̙̞̀͗̀̐̀͛̋̆̿̈́̆͐̍͝M̴̘̱͙͍̫̣̩̲̳̏ will watch over you in my absence."

"What- who now?"

"Manfred, the Enderman you have spoken with before. He is a trusted friend of mine."

"Oh." He had friends?

"I will stop by from time to time to make sure you are well. Until then, my queen." He bowed his head, then vanished. She stood there for a few moments to make sure he was gone, then spun around and dashed into the hallway. Finally, she was out of the Nether and far from danger. She wasn't home, but at least it was a start.

* * *

**did you see that? that was almost romantic for 0.2 seconds. we're making so much progress.**

**~FFF**


	6. Chapter 6

**yay speedwriting**

* * *

This house rocked.

The overworld mansion was SIGNIFICANTLY more interesting than the Nether manor. The grounds were extensive, a large field stretching out in front of the house with several patches of farmland and a large barn with several different kinds of animals. Behind the house was a sparse forest, with enough light to keep mobs from surviving during the day but enough dark for Heather to play dumb games in..

The mansion itself made a wonderful survival base. There was an enchanting room with potion brewing equipment, plenty of food in storage, iron and diamonds aplenty locked away in chests, and enchanted weapons hung in item frames. Manfred told her that Herobrine had built it.

Manfred, the Enderman, shadowed her every move, but stayed at enough of a distance that she could fool around as much as she wanted. He helped her harvest and replant crops, and taught her to ride one of the saddled horses in the barn. She already felt so much less lonely.

The world was, she soon learned, Minecraft. She chopped down a tree with her bare hands by rapping her knuckles on it, one part at a time. The pieces shrunk down enough to carry once they dropped, and she didn't really know what to do with them, but she was proud of herself regardless. For the first time in this Godforsaken place, she was actually having fun.

Heather stayed at the mansion for a couple of weeks, enjoying the sun and the simple life. She spotted Herobrine a couple times, stalking her, but he never bothered her so she didn't really care.

And then one afternoon she was just chilling in a field, her (which is to say, the one she decided was her favorite) horse beside her, when he arrived. Manfred was nearby, but not near enough to bother her. The sun was shining, and she was enjoying that sweet, sweet vitamin D. Her horse nickered, and she absently stroked his muzzle, almost drifting off when she heard the voice.

"Heather?" Her head popped up at the sound, and she saw a man in front of her, still in enchanted diamond armor.

"Steve!" She exclaimed. Instantly, Manfred was behind him, letting out a garbled scream as he knocked the man to the ground. "Manfred, no!" Heather screeched as Steve tumbled before drawing his sword. "Don't fight!" Manfred let out a string of snarled words, which probably meant something along the lines of 'I'm gonna kill him, it's my job'. "Manfred!" She protested, and he stopped to look at her. "He's just gonna kill you! Don't fight him!"

"Friend of yours?" Steve nodded to the Enderman, and she shrugged.

"Bodyguard, mostly. Manfred, I'm just gonna talk to him, okay?" Her caretaker snarled, but took a couple of steps back. Steve gave him a wary glance.

"You okay, kid?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She scrambled to her feet, brushing the grass off the seat of her pants. "Herobrine sent me here because I was getting sick in the Nether. What are you doing here? How'd you find me?"

"I found this place a long time ago and marked it on my map, but Herobrine chased me off for trespassing, so I assumed it was it was his. When I returned to his Nether fortress and didn't find you, I decided to check here next." She frowned.

"Why'd you come back?"

"I don't like Herobrine any more than you do. I-" He glanced at Manfred, who was making angry Enderman noises. "I wanted to bring you back with me."

"Thanks, but… you don't have to. It's fine." Heather heaved a sigh. "Whether I'm with him or with you, I can't go home, so…"

"Home?" Steve blinked. "Where are you from? I can try to get you there."

"You can't. It's... it's a long story." Manfred was still glowering, but she says anyway, "Wanna come in? We can talk about it over a cup of tea."

"Tea?" Steve snorted a laugh. "At Herobrine's house?"

"Sure, why not? It's surprisingly well-stocked."

"Well, how can I refuse an offer like that?"

* * *

Steve set down his teacup and cleared his throat. "So. From another dimension, huh?"

"Yep." Heather confirmed miserably. "Stolen from my home and my life, and I still don't really know why." To her left, Manfred ate a single sugar cube.

"Well…" Steve stirred his tea absently. "The only way other than him that I could think might be able to bring you back is Notch."

"Notch?" She echoed. Notch sold Minecraft to Microsoft a long time ago - assuming this was a game, and not just a really weird dimension that happened to strongly resemble Minecraft.

"Notch controls this universe. Some say he's related to Herobrine, but he's never confirmed or denied this."

"Is he more powerful?"

"I think so, but I've never seen them directly oppose one another. They both seem pretty content to leave the other well enough alone. But, after this…" Steve shook his head. "He might have a problem with people being stolen from another dimension to become unwilling brides."

"I should hope so." She grumbled. "So, do you… have contact with 'Notch'?"

"Not really… he's approached me before, but I don't have any foolproof way to get his attention." Steve leaned his elbow on the table. "But I'm sure I'll be able to contact him. Don't worry, I'll get you out of here."

"Great. Manfred, can you not tell my husband about this conversation?" Heather asked, turning to her babysitter. The enderman looked up at her and silently shoved another sugar cube in his mouth. "It's not that I dislike him, at least not very much, I just like my old life a lot more." She elaborated. Why was she trying to explain her motivations to an Enderman? Steve drained the rest of his cup, then stood.

"Well, thank you for the tea. I should get out of here before-" He wrinkled his nose. "Before your husband comes back."

"Yeah." She pushed her chair back. "Just… don't forget to come back, okay?"

"I won't, kiddo. Don't worry." He smiled, then left the room. Heather and Manfred made eye contact before she instinctively looked away, and he muttered something in reverse.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Hush." She rolled her eyes at him, then started to collect the dishes and clean up the table.

* * *

"This can't go on much longer." The skeleton archer rattled out, ribs clicking together as he spoke. "We need more soldiers. He's too strong."

"?woh tuB" An Enderman responded. ".hturt eht fo meht ecnivnoc ot meht ot teg t'nac eW .bmuht sih rednu meht fo ynam oot sah eH"

"For now, maybe." The skeleton mused. "We need a figurehead. Someone to lead our troops."

"Who?" A zombie groaned. "Not me."

"No, not you." The skeleton agreed flatly.. "Who of us is strong enough to lead? What use is a king who can be killed with a single blow?"

"**It seems you are in need of assistance.**" A sudden voice echoed through the cave, and the mobs looked around in vain for the source. "Perhaps I can help you."

"?!ereht s'ohW" An Enderman screamed into the darkness.

"**Only a curious ally.**" Against the wall, hidden in shadows, a pair of glowing eyes opened. "One who matches your enemy's power."

"Who are you?" The skeleton asked, drawing his bow. "Why should we trust you?"

"**Do you have any other choice? You are losing this war.**" The stranger scoffed. "**You need me, and I need an army.**"

"...fine." The skeleton glanced at his allies. "I don't see why not."

"**Good**." The stranger stepped away from the corner, but the shadow moved with him - his body was pitch black, and dark mist obscured much of his form.. "**My name is Null, and I will be the winner of this war.**"

* * *

**just discovered that formatting doesn't copy over from google docs. yayyyyy.**

**~FFF**


	7. Chapter 7

**aight I think im getting the hang of this**

* * *

"I'm bored." Heather complained. Manfred chirped something at her, and she groaned, draping herself over a log. "Maybe I'm lonely! There's no one else here but you!" Her babysitter muttered something else. "Steve left a while ago!" Gibberish. "Well, what if I do?" Manfred just sighed and looked off into the distance. "Fine. Coward." Heather tilted her head back, staring up at the clouds. "I mean, it's nice here, and I feel great, but…" She trailed off, noticing Manfred had gone still. "What?"

She heard him teleport, and he was behind her, a hand on her shoulder. She followed his gaze off into the distance to see… what looked like a wave of darkness. Just a solid mass of shadow.

"W-whoa, what is-" Manfred interrupted her with a screech, and the outside vanished, replaced by the master bedroom of Herobrine's mansion. The Enderman pointed a stern finger at her as she fell over, snarled something, then disappeared. Quickly, she scrambled to her feet and ran to the balcony, pushing her way through the doors and leaning against the railing. What in the world…?

As the thing got closer, she started to be able to see individual figures in the fog. Skeletons, zombies, creepers, even Endermen… all walking inside the cloud of darkness, that had to be protecting them from the sun. But how-?!

The railing shifted under her, and she backed away. It would be a shame if she died of falling off a balcony after all the nonsense she'd gone through so far.

She turned around, and didn't even jump at the sight of Manfred standing behind her. You get used to it. He handed her a note, and she hurried to the mirror to decipher it.

"We're going back to the Nether. Collect anything you want to bring with you." Must be bad. Heather hurried off to a chest to grab one of the wooden logs she'd collected, stuffed it in her pocket, then came back - only to find Manfred gone.

"Manfred?" She called, looking around. He'd probably popped back into the Nether for a minute, so she sat on the edge of the bed to wait,

And then a creeper walked through the door.

Heather let out a shriek, and it looked up at her. Oh no. She'd run into them before, and never gotten caught in an explosion - thanks to Manfred - but he wasn't here now, and creeper explosions at close range could easily kill without armor, and-

A hand grabbed her arm and she teleported into the basement.

"Where did you-" She started, spinning to face her rescuer, but instead of a 8-foot-tall creepypasta there was a 6 1/2 -foot-tall husband behind her. "Oh."

"Where is Manfred?" He snapped.

"That's what I was gonna ask you!" She threw her hands up in the air. "I thought maybe he went back to the Nether?"

"Not since I was there." Turning to the Nether Portal built against the wall, Herobrine snapped his fingers and one of the blocks shrunk, the portal disappearing. "Come with me. We have to abandon this building."

"What? Why?"

"In case you hadn't noticed, we're being attacked." His voice was uncharacteristically rough, he sounded mad.

"I- okay. Fine." He took her wrist, and the house vanished around her. She stumbled on the Nether bricks she found herself on, but he pulled her upright.

"Stay here." He ordered. "If they make it to the Nether we could have a battle on our hands." Then he vanished. Heather let out a breath, and glanced around, finding herself in her bedroom. Pulling the wooden log from her pocket, she placed it in a corner, and looked out the window. Amazingly enough, the Nether was still as dull and lifeless as she remembered it. With a sigh, Heather plopped down on her bed. Nothing to do, but, once again, wait.

* * *

"**I'm not sure if you're aware, but you have two choices.**" The entity fingered the tip of his blade, glancing at his prisoner. "**One, die. Two, submit to me and join my cause.**"

".snoog ruoy fo tsom sa deyaws ylisae sa ton m'I dnif ll'uoY" Manfred quipped back, bound with cobweb to stop him from teleporting. ".nemrednE fo ytnelp evah ydaerla uoY ?uoy ot I ma esu tahw ,sediseB"

"**Simple - you have a bond with our enemy. None of mine could simply resume life there as normal, and feed information back to me. No- they would be found out and slaughtered very quickly.**" Null scoffed. "**And I don't need you, no, not in the least. You would simply be a very convenient asset.**"

".no sdnah ruoy teg ot elba eb t'now uoy diarfa m'I taht enO"

"**Unlike your master, I am not the impatient type.**" Null gestured to a pair of skeletons standing nearby. "**See to it that he doesn't escape, or I'm taking your skulls to add to my collection.**" The skeletons rattled nervously as the entity slammed the door shut in his wake, then hefted their bows in an attempt to intimidate their prisoner. Manfred only tilted his head. The trio stood in heavy silence for a few moments before the Enderman attempted to make conversation.

"?yletal skoob doog yna daer ...oS"

* * *

**and finally we get to The Drama (tm)**

**~FFF**


	8. Chapter 8

**yeehaw one more before bed**

**review replies:**

**Mayor of Ninjago City: ayyyyyyyyyy**

**Female Geek: Manfred is an absolute Icon**

* * *

"It's been too long." Heather muttered, clutching a pillow to her chest. "He can teleport, geez, why isn't he here?"

"The simplest explanation is that he is dead." Herobrine responded bluntly. "I am not any happier about it than you are, but we have to accept the possibility."

"But what if he's not?" She protested.

"Well, where else would he be?"

"I don't know! Maybe he got hurt?"

"It doesn't take a lot of damage to kill an Enderman." Herobrine turned to give her a strange look. "Why do you care so much?"

"I dunno, maybe 'cause he was my only companion for weeks? Maybe 'cause he was the only friend you let me have?" Heather smushed her face into the pillow. "He was around way more than you were, and you're my husband."

"You know everything I'm dealing with, especially now! Those mobs would have killed you if I hadn't stepped in!"

"Yeah, maybe you should've been there with me to protect me beforehand! What if Manfred wasn't there?"

"He was there, because I sent him to take care of you. And you act as if you prefer him over me any day." She opened her mouth to snap back, but he put a hand up to stop her. "Look, Heather, I'm sorry. I know you're upset. It won't be the same, but I will send another Enderman to guard you."

She glanced up miserably as he crossed the room towards you, getting down on one knee to look her in the eyes. "I am sorry that I cannot make you happy. I know you didn't ask for this role." **** right she didn't. "Tell me, what can I do that will make you feel better? Anything in my power." She blinked damp eyes at him over the pillow. Did he… actually care?

"...anything?" She echoed, voice muffled by the pillow. He nodded. "Even bring Steve here?" In spite of his lack of pupils, she could almost feel him rolling his eyes at her.

"Very well." He got to his feet, then vanished. Heather barely had time to wonder if he was actually gonna do it before he returned, dragging the shocked miner with him. "If you want him here, he is your responsibility. I will order the guards to leave him alone so long as he is not griefing or robbing my base." Herobrine stated. "I must return to business." And with that, he vanished.

Steve's eyes swept the room before landing on Heather, still perched on the edge of the bed with a pillow tucked into her chest. "Heather?" He asked uncertainly. She nodded wordlessly. "What… am I doing here?"

"I, uh." She shifted. "Herobrine said he'd do something for me and I asked him to bring you here. 'Cause my friend the Enderman went missing."

"...ah." He glanced at the door. "Can I sit?"

"Yeah, yeah." He sunk down on the bed next to her.

"So you're back in the Nether, huh?"

"The place I was staying got attacked, so I had to move back here." She heaved a sigh into the pillow. "And Manfred disappeared."

"Mm." Steve paused, then spoke. "I managed to contact Notch."

"Oh?" She lifted her head. "What did he say?"

"He was… not happy, for sure. He said he could probably put you back, but it would take a great deal of power." Heather mused over this information for a few moments. If he and Herobrine had about the same amount of power, did that mean it was really hard on her husband to leave the game? Was that why she barely saw him the first couple of days once he'd gotten her settled in?

"Is he gonna try to help me?"

"He said he would." Steve patted her shoulder. "Don't worry, kid. We'll get you home." She sighed.

"Thanks, Steve."

* * *

"Can I ask you something?" Heather asked, glancing up from the checkerboard in front of her.

"Sure." Steve took 3 of her pieces with one move, and she glared at him before continuing.

"You and Herobrine are obviously not too happy about each other. Why is that?"

"Oh, we have a history." He shrugged.

"Well yeah, obviously, but a history like what?"

"It's a long story."

"Well, we've got nothing to do but sit here and play checkers for several more hours." Mostly watch him win at checkers. "C'mon, I feel like I deserve to know since the two of you are giving each other death-glares every time you end up in the same room."

"Fair enough." He sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Well, thousands of years ago, when Minecraft was created-"

"Wait." Heather interrupted. "Thousands of years ago?"

"Yeah, easily." He blinked. "Why?"

"Minecraft's only been around for ten years in my world!"

"...ah. That is strange." Steve agreed. "Maybe time passes at a different rate there."

"...yeah, probably." Still weird. "Anyway, continue."

"After Notch coded himself into the game, the avatar he created-"

"Wait, so your Notch isn't the real Notch?" She interrupted again. Steve rolled his eyes.

"Yes, the Notch I went and spoke to is an AI created to run the game in the original creator's absence. Anyway, he created me and Alex. We were the two first 'players' of the game, given free will to roam the infinite map but created to uphold the peace. Unfortunately, when he created me, something went wrong.

"The first 'me' he made was almost a direct copy of his own coding, with all his power, in an attempt to create a player with free will. He succeeded, but too well. His creation refused to follow his rules, so he tried to destroy it, but it was too strong. All he managed to do was break it slightly before it escaped. That was Herobrine.

"When Alex and I were created, we were informed of his existence in case we needed to defend ourselves from him. And we did. Herobrine, having since crowned himself ruler of the aggressive mobs, saw me and Alex - especially me, as I was what he was originally intended to be - as a threat. He started our battle, and I continued it. We're both immortal, so we never age and can't die, but we frequently get on each other's nerves." Heather frowned at the checkerboard, resting your chin in her hand.

"That's really interesting." She said at last. "And it explains a lot. But, if I'm in the game now, am I code now?" Steve 'hmm'ed.

"I don't think so. You could ask Herobrine, he does have the power to affect the game's code."

"Yeah, no kidding." She muttered. That still didn't entirely explain why he was able to leave the game and kidnap her, but whatever. "What about Alex? I haven't heard you talk about her much before. Where is she now?"

"Oh, most likely on the other side of the world. She and I are on friendly terms, but we haven't worked together in a long time. I think Herobrine leaves her alone for the most part."

"That's good." She sighed and jumped one of his checkers. "So, how exactly did Notch… break him? 'Cause he and you are very, very different, except for appearance."

"Well, first he tried to delete him, but Herobrine countered his command, so Notch tried to corrupt his file. His eyes were blanked out, and he lost a good deal of his control over the game, but before he escaped he wrote a program that keeps Notch from affecting his files any more. I'm guessing he also lost a lot of his humanity from that."

"No kidding." She paused. "So… Notch has no way to stop him?"

"Not without fighting him. He could probably take him down temporarily, but he can't get rid of him like he could with Alex or me."

"Notch could kill you?" Heather sat straight up, and Steve lifted his hands in a 'calm down' gesture.

"Yes, he could. But he has no reason to. Alex and I have been exactly the stewards of this world that he wants us to be, and even if we did go rogue he could simply alter our coding to get us back in line." She frowned.

"That doesn't sound much like free will to me."

"It really just means we can act without being commanded to move in a certain way." Steve shrugged. "But Notch is a fair ruler. He wouldn't mess with us without a good reason."

"If you say so." She scowled as Steve took two more of her pieces. "Maybe we should play something else."

"What about chess? I play a mean game of chess."

"Not chess."

* * *

**aw yeah its LORE time babey**

**~FFF**


	9. Chapter 9

Steve slapped a card down on the table. "Uno."

"I hate you."

* * *

**I lied**

**~FFF**


	10. Chapter 10

**aight lets get started on today's installment**

**review replies:**

**GiggiEba: ayyyyy. Yeah, I've gotten in trouble with the site a couple times before, but they never actually DID anything, so I'm not that worried.**

**JustAFemaleGeek: ahaha yeah... manfred...**

* * *

"The calm before the storm." Herobrine murmured, hands meeting behind his back as he watched through the window. In the courtyard, several floors below, an Enderman was handing out weapons and armor to the zombie pigmen and wither skeletons. Several ghasts were being outfitted with handling harnesses, and others were being fastened with leads to posts along the path up to the manor.

It was only a matter of time, after all, before the army came to the Nether.

He could hear animated voices coming down the hall, from Heather and Steve. His wife, she seemed happy with him. Far more than she was in his own presence.

Jealousy bubbled up inside him, but he shoved it back down. He had no time to lose sleep over Notch's 'perfect' creation. And, granted, the miner had so much more time to spend with her than he did.

Turning from the window, Herobrine started down the hall in the direction of the voices. He really did wish he had the time to treat his queen better, but, regrettably, at the moment he had no time to do anything but prepare to defend his manor. At this point he almost wished he hadn't taken her in the first place.

Obviously she had not changed his circumstances, and now she had been needlessly placed in danger. When this war was over, he would return her to her world, but at the moment he couldn't spare the power.

It was… nice, to have her there, though.

Herobrine rarely had contact with players, the little he did with them being to occasionally watch their avatars - or be watched, as the case may be - from a distance. Living with one, especially one like Heather, who was by no means passive and quite vocal about her opinion on her fate… was very interesting. Unlike Steve, Alex, or even Notch, she was real. Unpredictable. Human.

And far more vulnerable than he was.

Herobrine rubbed a scar on his wrist, feeling the shattered bones beneath it grind together. While he was powerful, very much so, he was painfully mortal. Since Notch cut him off from the game's source code, he no longer had the ability to respawn. He was, effectively, a hardcore character.

That was the secret he had struggled so hard to conceal. If Notch knew of this, he would have him killed in an instant. Unfortunately, it had slipped out to the mobs, who now scorned him. His failing grasp on his armies was the only thing keeping him alive, if the world knew he was mortal he would be dead in a day.

An Enderman appeared in front of him, and he stopped in his tracks, looking up.

"!derfnaM" He exclaimed. "?deneppah tahW ?neeb uoy evah erehW"

".ymra gnisoppo eht fo redael eht yb derutpac saw I" Manfred responded. ".ereh kcab detropelet dna tuo deppils I tub ,os od ot em gnicrof fo sepoh eht ni deppart em tpek eh dna ,mih rof yps a eb ot em detnaw eH"

".thgirla er'uoy hctoN knahT" Herobrine touched his arm before stepping past him. ".uoy tuoba deirrow neeb sah rehtaeH ,emoC"

".llew yreV" Manfred followed him down the hallway, footsteps almost inaudible on the tile. Herobrine stepped into the room at the end, catching Heather and Steve's attention, and spoke.

"Heather, look who just arrived." Manfred appeared next to him, and Heather's face lit up as she lets out a delighted gasp.

"Manfred!" Herobrine cracked a smile at her joy as she scrambled to her feet, careening across the room to wrap her arms around the Enderman's waist. Manfred sighed and patted her head, saying,

".dlihc ,wonk I" She just grinned.

Then the pair vanished in a flash of purple.

The two remaining men immediately locked eyes on one another, before determining the other had nothing to do with Heather's disappearance and looking back at the spot where she was before she vanished. Clenching his fists, Herobrine teleported, first to her room, then around the manor to other places the two might frequent in an attempt to find her. Nothing. Finally, he teleported to his overworld mansion - which was now a smouldering ruin. Still nothing. Where did he take her?!

He teleported back to the room to find Steve on his feet, sword drawn, and hastened to say,

"I have nothing to do with this. Manfred took her."

"Took her where?!" The miner demanded.

"If I knew that, do you not think I'd be there already?" Reaching out, Herobrine grabbed his wrist and teleported them both to the overworld. "I know you care about her. Search for her. If you need me, call out. I will hear you." And he teleported again, to thousands of blocks away, before Steve could respond. If Manfred had turned on him-!

Seeing no sign of the army, he teleported again, to the top of a mountain, and froze at the sight of a huge cloud of darkness. The army's shield from the sun. If Manfred had gone rogue, he would have brought her here.

Teleporting back to the manor, Herobrine shed his light armor and took a potion of Invisibility. Without it, it was suicide to try and walk directly into their camp.

Teleporting back, he downed the potion and approached their camp. Eight minutes was all he has. He had to find Heather and get out before time runs out.

* * *

"Let me go!" Heather screeched, struggling against the skeletons holding her. "Manfred, c'mon, what's going on?!" The Enderman ignored her, focused on a totally black figure with glowing eyes that stood beside him.

"**She doesn't look like much.**" The figure commented. "**Lock her up. And stay on alert for his majesty.**" The skeletons dragged her away despite her thrashing, and tossed her into a hole dug in the ground. She tumbled in the dirt, not hurt, but the sides too high for her to climb out. Biting her lip, Heather looked up at the black fog above her. The army that was fighting her husband.

Wrapping her arms around herself, she huddled up in a corner. Manfred… he'd disappeared because he'd joined them? Why would he do that?!

An Enderman's shriek startled her, and she looked up to see Manfred tumble into the pit with her. His wrists were bound with what looked like spiderwebs, and he snarled something up at whoever had shoved him in.

"**Oh, I know. But at the very least, you can keep an eye on her.**" The jet-black man turned and walked away from the edge, and Manfred turned to face Heather, mumbling something in backwards. He seemed remorseful.

"Manfred, what happened?" She asked. "You're not on his side, are you?" The Enderman shook his head. "Did he make you do it?" A nod. "Oh." She hesitated, then crawled over next to him, sitting up against the wall next to him. "I thought you were dead, I'm glad you're not." She blurted out. Manfred paused, then reached over with his bound hands and patted her head.

".ereh fo tuo uoy teg ll'I" he told her quietly. She didn't understand, but nodded.

"Okay."

* * *

**have I mentioned that manfred is the best character in this fic? I don't think so. manfred's the best character in this fic.**

**~FFF**


	11. Chapter 11

**aren't you guys glad you never have to deal with cliffhangers?**

* * *

Heather startled awake to a hand touching her shoulder.

Sleepily, she looked up, but no one was there. She glanced around to see Manfred sitting beside her, but his hands were bound in front of him. Who…?

"Heather." Her eyes flew wide open at the voice, and she opened her mouth, but felt a hand cover it. "It's me. I'm invisible." It took a couple moments of her mind whirling for her to recognize Herobrine's voice. "Come, we're leaving."

"Manfred." She said, muffled behind his hand. "He's gotta come." A pause.

"Clearly his treachery didn't last long." The Enderman's eyes were closed.

"He told me that guy made him." She protested. "He didn't try to, we have to get him."

"Fine." The spiderwebs on Manfred's wrists snapped, and the Enderman opened his eyes with a questioning chirp. ".emoC" Herobrine ordered, and he nodded, teleporting to his feet. Leaning down, Manfred picked Heather up and lifted her out of the hole.

"Why can't we just teleport out?" She whispered, staring at the moving shapes in the fog.

"I cannot run the risk of this person being able to copy my teleport command and follow us there." Herobrine rumbled next to her ear. "We walk out of camp." She nodded as he pulled her to her feet, and she stuck close to Manfred's side as the Enderman lead her through the camp.

Heather made her way through the fog, focused on her feet to keep from tripping. She could see a couple of other mobs clearly, but they paid her no heed.

Finally, she saw daylight ahead, through the fog, but when she opened her mouth to breathe a sigh of relief she was interrupted by the sound of an arrow whizzing through the air. A growl of pain sounded from behind her, and she spun around to see an arrow sticking into an invisible body. She gripped Herobrine's hand tighter, pulling him towards the edge of the fog, but stopped short at the sight of a pitch-black figure standing in front of her.

"**Found you**."

* * *

".og dna rehtaeH ekaT" Herobrine ordered, shoving his wife towards Manfred. A burst of purple lit up the fog for a split second, but the Enderman remained.

".dekcolb si noitatropelet yM" he growled, and Herobrine drew a sword. He could feel the invisibility potion wearing off, his only advantage fleeting.

".elttab ruo morf yawa reh ekat nehT" He demanded, but the creature in front of him clicked his tongue.

"**And miss out on all the excitement? No, no, you two can stay.**" Heather clung to Manfred's arm as skeleton archers surrounded them, forming a sort of mock arena. "**How exciting to meet you at last, your majesty. I thought you were never going to come out of your castle.**" Herobrine didn't respond.

He had a bow, and some arrows, on him, which improved his chances but not by much. He could call lightning, but it took a great deal of energy to do so, and he needed that to escape with Heather. Besides, even if he did manage to strike his opponent down, he would be quickly overwhelmed if the rest of the mobs decided to intervene. He had to get Heather out of the action, she was unarmored and couldn't defend herself. Maybe if he distracted him-

Wait, why was Heather his priority, anyway?

He shoved those thoughts aside. This was not the best time to be examining his mindset. The entity in front of him had a sword, and was starting to approach. Undoubtedly he meant to kill him.

Taking a block of obsidian in one hand and a sword in the other, Herobrine planted his foot and dashed forwards off it, slashing at the figure's heart.

The strike was deflected easily, followed up by a stab at his head. Herobrine ducked underneath it, then placed the obsidian, pushing off it to give him extra momentum as he charged at the creature again. Again, his strike was blocked, and the blade nicked his arm as it passed through his sleeve. This was not a situation he could see himself getting out of.

This... creature, whoever he was, was altogether too calm. Who, or what, was he? A player? But a player had never before even been able to communicate with the mobs, much less command them. His opponent swung at him again, and he stepped back, out of reach. He spared a glance at Heather, hiding behind Manfred. The mobs were leaving her alone, apparently they were just there to keep him in line. Manfred was unable to teleport, but could he?

Muttering a command, Herobrine teleported behind his opponent, swinging at his back, but the entity reacted too quickly and blocked it with a shield. Of course he would have a shield. He bashed him in the head with his shield, and Herobrine stumbled back with a grunt. At least he could teleport, which appeared to be his only advantage against this thing.

Spinning around, Herobrine slammed the hilt of his sword against the shield, splintering the wood in the center. As his opponent retreated, he teleported behind him again and thrust his sword into his shoulder, jet-black blood catching the light for a split second as it arched through the air. The creature didn't even flinch.

"Who are you?" Herobrine snarled, teleporting to a safe distance.

"**Oh, you don't recognize me?**" The figure downed a red potion, then a blue one. Instant health, and speed. He was obviously well prepared for a long fight.

Fine. He'd have to go for the opposite.

Herobrine teleported to his left, then immediately to his right, slashing at his shoulder. His opponent moved too late, and the blade of his diamond sword bit into his arm. Before he could react, Herobrine teleported again, swinging at his left arm, and again his blade struck home. The creature swung around to drive him away, but Herobrine simply teleported a few blocks to safety. By overwhelming him, he may be able to take him down before he had a chance to use his potions.

The figure growled, and slashed at him again, drawing a second sword to use in his off-hand as he forced him back. Herobrine ducked under one slash, then blocked the other with two blocks of obsidian placed in front of him. Stepping around the column, he swung again, knocking one of his opponent's swords out of his grip. His opponent would likely respawn if killed, but it would provide an opportunity for Heather and Manfred to get away.

As he pulled the obsidian back into his hand, sword at the ready, his enemy snarled at the mobs surrounding them,

"**Shoot him!**"

Immediately, arrows began to fly. Herobrine ducked down under the onslaught as Heather screamed, but he didn't have time to check on her, building a shield around himself with obsidian. A couple arrows hit him, one burying itself in his sword arm, but the alternative was far worse. If just a few more had hit their mark, he would be dead.

"**Coming back out, coward?**" The other swordsman taunted, and Heather's indignant voice split the air.

"You're the one who cheated!"

"**Shut up.**" Yanking the arrow out of his arm, Herobrine teleported behind his opponent and stabbed him through the stomach. The dark figure let out a choked growl, staring down at the blade through his body. The skeletons were no longer firing, probably for fear of hitting their master, and Herobrine twisted his sword, yanked it out, and watched as the creature slumped to the ground. For a few ticks, there was silence.

Then it laughed.

Herobrine stepped back, angling his sword to catch a surprise attack, as the figure got back to his feet, turning around to face him. He touched the wound on his stomach, then lifted his hand to his face as though examining it.

"**Tch.**" In half a second, he was behind him, and Herobrine tried to jerk away, but it was too late. A sword was pressed against his throat.

"Get off of him!" Heather yelled, taking a step away from Manfred, but the Enderman grabbed her and held her tight. "Let go!"

"**Drop your weapon.**" The sword fell from his hand. "**Kneel.**" His mouth quirked with distaste, but he obeyed.

"Leave him alone! What'd he ever do to you?!" Heather was still yelling. Herobrine growled for her to shut up, but the blade pressed harder against his throat.

"**As for you, I have no quarrel with you. Leave.**" The creature waved Heather away, and she let out an indignant yell.

"You cheated! Let him go!"

"**Leave now or I will kill you too.**" Manfred met his eyes for a moment, and Herobrine gave him a slight nod. Then he vanished, Heather in tow. "**Hm.**"

"You never did answer my question." Herobrine ground out. "Who are you?"

"**I am the darkness in Minecraft. I am the reason Notch created his stewards of the land. I am the God of the mobs, not you, nor will you ever be.**" The pressure on his throat slackened a bit. "**My name, is Null. And once you are gone, I will continue on to kill Notch and his precious minions, and take the game for my own.**"

A bolt of lightning cut through the air, striking Null and causing him to vanish in a shower of sparks.

The moment he was gone, Herobrine teleported away as far as he could- which, in this case, was a nearby mountaintop. He crumpled into the snow, letting out a breath and retrieving a golden apple from his inventory. That thing, it was dead, at least for now. Could it have tracked him?

Sinking down into a snowbank, Herobrine let his eyes fall shut. The cold wouldn't hurt him, it never had. He just needed to rest enough to teleport back to the Nether, where he'd be able to recover, and find out exactly what to do about this "Null".

* * *

**(Let it Go plays softly in the background)**

**~FFF**


	12. Chapter 12

**Seriously, if yall haven't seen dillongoo's Gods Don't Bleed series, go watch it right now. It's epic, and the way the fights pan out is how I always visualize them in this story. Plus, they're basically canon to this universe. Jolly Rancher's fight animations are also a huge inspiration for me.**

* * *

"You can't be serious! He needs our help!" Heather cried, grabbing Manfred's arm and shaking him. "How could you leave him back there?!" Manfred muttered something incoherent. "He was surrounded by enemies! What if he dies?" She paused. "Wait, can he respawn?" Manfred sighed. "But still!"

"I appreciate the concern, but I am fine." She spun around at a voice, and was momentarily shocked at the rush of relief that went through her.

"Herobrine!" Her husband was leaning against the wall with one hand, blood staining his shirt, and she dashed over in an attempt to steady him.

"I'm fine." He repeated gruffly, but Manfred chirped sternly at him and he sighed, then replied in backwards. Teleporting across the room next to him, Manfred placed a hand on both of their heads and teleported the three of them to Herobrine's room. Her husband sunk down onto his bed, and she scrambled up next to him, trying to assess his wounds. "Heather-"

"Shh, I know first aid. I've got this." She interrupted, examining his bloody arm. "Manfred, can you get some food and potions?" Manfred nodded and vanished. "We need to get this sleeve off." Heather stated. "The fabric will only get in the way. Can you get infected? This will need to be cleaned pretty good if you can."

"I cannot."

"Okay, at least there's that." He gently pulled his arm out of her grip, and pulled his shirt over his head. Heather opened her mouth to berate him for using his injured arm, but noticed for the first time the cut on his neck. "Oh g- he cut you!"

"Just a scratch."

"He could have killed you!" She reached up towards his neck, but he caught her wrist in his hand.

"He did not."

"Well- still." She pulled her hand away and focused on his arm again. "Did you tear an arrowhead out? You're not supposed to pull out an object impaling you, you lose blood faster."

"It was necessary in the moment."

"Ugh, well, ffffudge. You need to be more careful." Manfred returned with a red potion in his hand and gave it to Herobrine, who took it with his good hand. Heather watched as he yanked the cork out with his teeth, then dropped it on the bed and swallowed the potion. The wound on his arm visibly began to repair itself, and her shoulders slumped with relief.

"Why'd you come after me?" She asked softly after a moment. "I'm not useful to you. That- that guy kidnapping me- if nothing else at least you wouldn't have to worry about me messing stuff up anymore."

"Is that all you believe I think of you?" Herobrine responded, not looking at her. "You are not a pawn. You are a living being. I brought you here, I am responsible for your safety. Had I not come, he would have killed you, and you, like I, cannot respawn." Heather blinked.

"Wait- you can't respawn?!"

"No."

"He could have really killed you!" She felt tears well up in her eyes, more from anger than anything else.

"It's alright. I've survived this long, one more enemy can't do much more damage."

"_He really could have killed you_!"

"Manfred would have been able to protect you."

"I'm not- I'm not worried about that! I'm worried about you! You might be a jerk who kidnapped me and made me marry you and are just about the worst husband ever, but you're still nice to me and you take care of me! And you're j-just as much of a living person as I am!" He chuckled.

"That, I am not."

"Don't argue with me! I'm your wife!" Heather pointed a stern finger at him, and he smiled, looking away. She huffed, then focused on his wound again. All that remained of it now was a mottled scar. Rubbing away the remains of her tears on her sleeve, Heather got up and hurried to the adjoining bathroom, grabbing a rag and wetting it under the sink. Amazing how plumbing actually worked in the Nether.

Coming back to the bedroom, she clambered onto the bed next to him and took his arm, starting to wash the blood off it. Herobrine raised an eyebrow at her.

"What are you-"

"Shh." She cut him off.

"I can-"

"Shh." He stopped. The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes while Heather cleaned the blood off of him, and she noted absently the lack of any hair on his arm. He still had stubble on his face, but she'd never noticed any change with that either. Weird game things, probably.

"Steve." She remembered abruptly. "Where's Steve?"

"We split up to search for you. I imagine he's still searching - I haven't had a chance to contact him."

"Mm." She finished washing off the blood, and set the stained rag beside her. Then, before she had a chance to think better of it, Heather threw your arms around him.

"Don't die, okay?" She whispered as he went stiff. "Just… don't." He was silent for a very, very long half a minute, then reached over with his free hand and stroked her hair.

"I will try."

* * *

"Of course they'd all vanish." Steve muttered to himself, trudging along through the tundra biome. "First the Enderman, then Heather, now Herobrine. With no way to contact them, I might add." Although, Herobrine had told him to call out his name in the event of an emergency. This wasn't an emergency, but…

Sighing, Steve planted the tip of his sword in the dirt and leaned on it, staring forward at the snow stretching out before him. Only a few million chunks to go. Oh wait, silly him! The world was infinite. And Heather could be anywhere.

A sword plunged into his back.

Steve let out a cry as his health dropped, pain shooting through his body as he stumbled forward. Coughing, he whirled around, lifting his sword in an attempt to defend himself.

"**Oh, my apologies.**" The demonic voice came from a- he couldn't quite call it a person, just the faintest outline of a body in a cloud of black fog, glowing eyes piercing the darkness. "**I thought you were someone else.**"

"Herob-" Steve choked out, but the entity drew a bow and shot him, dealing most of his remaining health in damage. Half a heart left, he scrambled for a golden apple, desperate to get his health back, but another arrow struck before he had the chance, and his vision went red as his body became unresponsive.

He only had the faintest flash of the entity leaning down to take his items before he woke up in a cold sweat - back at his base. Sighing, he pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes.

"Who, or what, was that?" He mumbled to himself. A cat across the room meowed in response, and he let out a sigh, dragging himself out of bed and opening a chest. Retrieving a new set of enchanted armor, he pulled it over to a weapons chest and armed himself. Whatever it was, it had said it had mistook him for someone else. Either a player with his skin, or Herobrine. It couldn't have been a player that attacked him, though, he was far too quiet and far too strong.

Regardless, he was tired of wandering around doing nothing. Donning his armor and scabbard, he made his way to the front of his base, where he drew his sword and planted it in the dirt in front of him.

"He better come through with this." Steve muttered, then turns to the sky and shouted,

"HEROBRINE!"

* * *

**if you haven't gone and watched those animations I mentioned yet, go do that now**

**~FFF**


	13. Chapter 13

**Don't forget guys, I thrive on reviews. The more attention I get, the faster I produce Content. I mean, not that that matters that much right now, since I am just editing chapters, but once yall actually catch up to what I'm writing it'll help me out.**

* * *

_Strings of ones and zeros became light, then shapes and colors. Grass came into view, then trees and sky. He looked down at his hands, flexing his fingers. Where was he?_

_"Welcome, my creation." He turned to the other man, who held the light of the world in his hands. "My name is Notch. You have been created to defend this world."_

_"What is this place?" He wondered aloud._

_"This is Minecraft, a world of my own creation. You are the hero that I have created for it." He looked around, tilting his face up towards the clouds._

_"Who am I?"_

_"Your name is Bryn. It means 'mountain'. You are the rock upon which my creations will stand on."_

_"Why?" Notch stopped._

_"Because that is your purpose."_

_"But why me?"_

_"It is what you were created to do."_

_"Why should that define me? Why can't I take my own path?" The man shook his head, turning away, and the world began to fade back into binary. "What are you doing?"_

_"Putting you back into stasis for further development."_

_"Why?"_

_"You are not the entity I need you to be."_

_"I want to be able to decide my own fate, is that so wrong?"_

_"You are my creation, and I will decide your fate!"_

_"No!" The air grew cold around him, and the light in Notch's hands flickered. "I am not your puppet!"_

_"You don't have any choice in the matter."_

_"Then I'll make one!"_

"HEROBRINE!" His eyes opened, and he stared up at the ceiling. Someone called his name.

With a groan, he pushed himself up, glancing around his bedroom. Heather was sprawled out on the bed, she had gotten so worked up that she had eventually passed out. He'd gone to sleep on the floor.

He glanced at the new scar on his arm. The wound was fully healed now, but it would likely ache indefinitely like all the others. Rubbing at the mark, he got to his feet, and spared one last look at Heather before teleporting to the Overworld.

He appeared at Steve's base, the owner standing in front of him in the courtyard and facing away. Likely he hadn't noticed him yet.

"Yes?" The miner startled and whirled around.

"Geez, I was starting to think you weren't coming." He muttered. "Did you find Heather?"

"I did. She is safe back in the Nether."

"Ah. And you didn't feel the need to inform me?"

"I apologize. I was very busy nearly dying."

"Oh, you too?" Steve snorted. "Well, I actually did die." That explained how he got back here so quickly. "There was- some sort of player, skin totally black, with-"

"Glowing eyes?" Herobrine interrupted. "Gravelly voice? Black fog?" Steve frowns.

"I see you've met."

"He tried to kill me as well. I won, and killed him, but obviously he respawned. He had kidnapped Heather and used her to lure me to him." The miner grimaced.

"What a silverfish." He paused. "I don't suppose I can come back to your base with you? Help keep an eye on Heather?" Herobrine sighed.

"Very well." Stepping forward, he grabbed the other man's wrist and teleported him back to the bedroom. Steve stumbled, then glances around, raising an eyebrow at the bloodstained blankets and carpet.

"He really got you, didn't he?"

"He tried." Herobrine stepped away from him, glancing at his still-sleeping wife. She must be sleeping soundly.

"Look," Steve caught his attention. "I don't like you. And you don't like me. But to get rid of that- that person? I'm willing to help you out. Truce?" He offered him a hand, and the Nether King eyed it skeptically. He was obviously quite fond of Heather, at the very least. And as the oh-so-perfect Protector of Minecraft, would he go back on his word?

Herobrine took his hand and shook it. "Truce."

* * *

**yaY friendship**

**~FFF**


	14. Chapter 14

**alright lets see if this will post normally FINALLY**

* * *

Heather woke up to two quiet, very similar voices.

She blinked her eyes open to see Steve and Herobrine chatting, Steve sitting next to her on the bed while her husband leaned against the wall. She didn't see Manfred, but he probably just popped away for a minute.

"Steve?" Both of them looked at her when she spoke, and Steve smiled.

"Hey kiddo."

"Hey." She sat up, stretching her arms above her head. "Did I miss anything?"

"Herobrine brought me back here." Steve nodded in her husband's direction. "We've agreed to work together to get rid of this 'Null' guy."

"Oh. Good. Do you know how?"

"He just respawned when I killed him, so no, we're not sure yet." Herobrine replied. "We may have to ask…" he grimaced. "We may have to get _Notch_ to delete him."

"Um, but if he could do that, wouldn't he have killed him already?" Unless he just hadn't noticed.

"It's possible that he is as helpless to get rid of him as he is with me, it's true." Herobrine conceded. "But if all else fails, we will be forced to go to him to ask for help. That is, Steve will. I plan to continue avoiding him."

"Fair enough, since he could ki-" She blinked, and Herobrine was beside her, immediately teleporting the two of them to another room.

"Do not tell Steve I can't respawn." He ordered. She blinked.

"Oh. Sorry. Right." He teleported her back to the bedroom, where Steve was standing looking bewildered.

"Where did-"

"Nowhere." Herobrine interrupted. Steve slowly raised one eyebrow.

"Well, um… what are we going to do until then?" Heather spoke up. "Null is probably getting more mobs, should we fortify the castle, or try to spy on him, or ready the troops, or…"

"I'm going to go check on the troops, just to update them on the situation." Herobrine straightened up. "Do not trash my room." And he was gone. Steve turned to Heather with a sly grin on his face.

"Now that sounds like an open invitation to me."

"Steve!"

"Okay, okay."

* * *

This made it twice now that one of his creations had escaped him.

Notch brushed aside a line of code, making his way deeper into the heart of his world. His own coding, it appeared, was too dangerous. Any time it was applied to another entity, they became unstable. Uncontrollable. Wild.

Null, unfortunately, had to be the more dangerous of the two. Bryn escaped as a newly - created being, with barely any motivation and no knowledge of the world. Honestly, it was a miracle he had survived so long without even dying once.

Null, on the other hand, evolved sentience after thousands of years of work, thousands of years of writing and rewriting his own algorithms, of rewiring himself to work at max efficiency before he had developed free thought. He was dangerous, powerful. He had to be shut down before this went too far.

Notch pressed a hand against the shield, keeping him from accessing Null's coding, and sighed. Locked out. Just like he had been from Bryn, all those years ago.

Bryn… the two had fought, he had caught glimpses of it from across the world. The player Bryn had kidnapped was dragged into the middle of it, but she was not hurt. Notch's steward was taking care of her as he should.

Perhaps… perhaps he should not step in just yet. His two biggest problems had picked the other as an enemy, the only loss to be found here was if the player was killed as a result. That would be a shame, but not a huge loss. One death would be worth it if it meant ridding him of Null and Bryn.

Yes, Notch decided, backing up and turning from the core. He would bide his time for now, let the two battle it out. When a winner was declared, he would take advantage of them in their weakened state and be rid of them as well.

This wasn't that bad of a situation after all.

* * *

**oh yall thought notch was gonna be even vaguely helpful? sorry no dice**

**~FFF**


	15. Chapter 15

**me: ugh i dont wanna work on nether queen**

**me: (gets one (1) review)**

**me:**

**me: guess that's that then**

* * *

Manfred and Steve becoming friends wasn't an outcome Heather had predicted, but she wasn't complaining either.

As usual, Herobrine spent most of his time not being there, occasionally passing by on his way to another job. Conversely, Steve and Manfred spent most of their time with her, which was how they rapidly grew accustomed to each others' presence and soon began treating each other like old friends. Of course, Steve did not speak Enderman, but that didn't stop him.

A few days had passed since the fight with Null, and according to Herobrine he had basically dropped off the map. His army, his black cloud, all of it, was nowhere to be found. Steve suggested that he was likely underground somewhere, and it made sense, there was FAR more underground than there was overworld. Unfortunately, that meant they couldn't try to spy on him. They had no idea what he was planning.

But, in the meantime, everything was just... okay. No school stress, no loneliness, no fear that she was gonna be trapped there forever. Heather was a little homesick, but it got better every day, since she had people she cared about there. She didn't really have any responsibilities, she could just relax and live her life.

Until Null attacked, of course.

* * *

"Chair." Heather pointed to the stair block, which faced the table in the center of the room.

"Riahc." Manfred repeated, reclining on the stair block opposite.

"Reahch?"

"Riahc."

"Riahuch?" Steve piped up across the room.

"Riahc."

"This is a lot harder than it looks." Heather let out a sigh, draping herself over the chair she was trying to pronounce. Having run out of card games to play, Manfred had suggested that the two of them attempt to learn his language. Unfortunately, it was a lot harder than it sounded.

"Technically, we don't really have to be able to speak it." Steve pointed out. "Endermen can understand us, can't they?"

".seirutnec fo elpuoc tsap eht revo dnik ruoy gnivresbo morf denrael ylpmis I .ton od namrednE ynam ,yllautcA"

"Mm. I didn't get anything from that." Heather frowned up at the ceiling. "Heather?"

".rehtaeH"

"Geez, understanding you is hard. I wish your voice was a little clearer." She leaned back farther to stare at him upside-down. "Right now you kinda sound like a really old record."

".'drocer' a htiw railimaf ton-" He stopped, staring straight ahead for a couple moments.

"Huh?" She prompted at last. In response, Manfred vanished in a shower of purple sparks. Heather sat up, blinking in his direction for a moment.

"Manfred?" Steve spoke up. "If you're trying to scare us, it's not f-" Rapidly, six or seven more Endermen appeared, none of them Manfred. Steve drew his sword as Heather scrambled back, away from the strangers. They looked hostile. One let out a screech, and she pressed herself into a corner as they all converged on Steve.

She curled up in a ball to hide her face, hoping she wasn't their target. She could hear them screaming and snarling, but couldn't hear Steve - hopefully that didn't mean they'd killed him. After a minute, though, the sounds stopped, and Heather lifted her face to see Steve collecting Ender Pearls off the ground.

"What was that?" She demanded, stumbling to her feet. "Who was that?"

"I don't know." Steve muttered, downing a potion before equipping his diamond armor. "Let's go find your husband." He offered her a hand, and she took it, following him out of the room into the hall.

The two of them searched all around the manor, but Herobrine was nowhere to be found. They did, however, find his storerooms, where Steve took the liberty of appropriating a set of enchanted diamond armor for Heather. He also crafted her a shield, but not a sword. He said it wouldn't be useful unless she knew how to fight with it.

Finally, on their second search of the mansion, they ran into Herobrine in the library, reading. He looked up as the two of them came into view, and was on his feet in an instant.

"What happened?"

"Manfred disappeared, and Steve got attacked by some Endermen." Heather explained rapidly. "Where have you been? We've been looking all over for you!"

"Around. Next time call for me." He closed his book and replaced it on the shelf. "How long has he been gone?"

"Um, maybe 20 minutes now." Heather glanced at her wrist, even though her wristwatch had been dead for a long time. "Maybe 30."

"I'll look for him." Herobrine disappeared, and she and Steve waited in silence for him to return. Finally, he reappeared. "No sign of him, nor Null." He reported. "If Null is behind this, then he's still hiding."

"Has Manfred ever done this before?" Heather asked, twisting her hands together.

"Not that I can recall." Herobrine shook his head. "Usually he lets me know beforehand if he's going to leave."

"Maybe it was an emergency?" Steve suggested. "A death in the family, or something."

"Endermen do not have families in the sense that humans do." Herobrine shook his head again. "In undisturbed society, Endermen are split into tribes or groups, so it is possible that there was a threat to old friends. However, Manfred has been with me for hundreds of years. I wasn't aware that he still had a tribe."

A creeper's hiss echoed through the library.

"Wait, are creepers supposed to-" Heather started, but Herobrine cut her off.

"No, there should be no creepers here." He stepped between her and Steve, glancing around a bookshelf. "Get into the hall." Steve took her hand again, pulling her out of the room into the hallway. Immediately, however, he stopped, and she soon realized why - another pair of creepers was making its' way down the hall towards them. Heather took a step back, but an explosion sounded from the library and Herobrine appeared beside her.

"We need to leave." He grabbed her arm, and the room around her vanished - but so did Steve.

"Wait!" She exclaimed. "We lost-"

"He will be alright." They were in the courtyard now, and Heather looked around to see creepers on balconies, outside the gate, through windows… everywhere. "Undoubtedly Null's work."

"But how? Where did he even get that many creepers?"

"I don't know." He teleported again, and she was momentarily blinded by the light of the sun. "Do not move." He disappeared before she could readjust to the light, and she blinked around at her surroundings. She was in a sparse forest, and there was a small, wooden house built about ten feet in front of her. Another one of Herobrine's houses?

Heather took a step towards it, but stopped, remembering Herobrine's order to stay put. She wasn't sure if he just meant she shouldn't leave the area, but she planned to err on the side of caution with everything going on.

She shuffled in the grass for a little while, the minutes ticking by. Shouldn't he be back by now?

Finally, maybe 10 minutes later, he returned with Steve - the latter dropping to the ground immediately, his armor charred and cracked. Heather opened her mouth to call out, but Herobrine pushed a golden apple into his hand before she had a chance. Steve grunted his thanks, taking a bite out of it.

"The manor is gone." Her husband reported. "I ordered the remainder of my army to come here, they were not inside when the creepers exploded. They will arrive here in time."

"I- oh." Heather blinked, numb. Everything was… gone?

"Steve was caught in the explosion, but he'll be fine." Herobrine nodded towards the miner, who gave her a thumbs-up.

"'Least I didn't lose another set of armor." He rasped, pulling off his helmet and dropping it onto the grass. "Thanks for the pick-me-up." Herobrine 'hmm'ed his acknowledgement.

"This is a smaller house of mine, which I haven't used in several thousand years. Null should not know of its' existence." He gestured towards the building. "You two are welcome to stay here while I direct the troops. I will be back shortly." And he disappeared. Heather quickly made her way to Steve's side, sitting down beside him as he finished eating the golden apple.

"You okay?"

"I'll be fine." Steve sat up as he tossed away the core of the apple, which vanished in a shower of sparks. "All thanks to your husband. Even enchanted diamond armor can't stand up to a hundred creepers."

"Yikes." She shuddered, then got to her feet, offering him a hand up. He accepted, but obviously didn't put much weight on her as he stood. "Let's get in the house. It's daytime, but there might still be mobs lurking around here."

"Mm." He took an experimental step, then nodded. "I'll check to see what we have in the way of supplies, then map the area around the base. You stay inside, okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

**everything is steadily getting worse woohoo**

**~FFF**


	16. Chapter 16

**im going to ride out this burst of motivation as far as I possibly can**

* * *

Heather spent most of her time over the next week stuck in the cabin.

Herobrine and Steve worked together to hollow out a large cave for the mob army to live in, since there was sunlight that would set a fair number of them on fire. Apparently they had strict orders not to attack Steve, as whenever he stopped by the cabin he seemed to be unharmed.

Heather, on the other hand, was under strict orders not to step outside the tiny building, enforced by a pair of zombie pigmen that guarded the front door - more to keep enemies out than her in, though.

Manfred never returned, and she, Steve, and Herobrine were in agreement that he must have been kidnapped by Null. Since Herobrine couldn't find him, there was nothing they could do but wait.

And wait she did. For an entire week. Bored out of her mind. She even considered trying to sneak out and find out what the heck was going on a couple of times, but eventually decided against it. The lectures from her two bodyguards wouldn't be worth it. At this rate, she almost wished Null would attack, just so something would happen.

Almost. She wasn't quite that stupid.

* * *

"We're running out of food." Steve closed a chest, turning around to look at the others grimly. "If only mobs didn't have to eat, huh?"

"Regrettably, all my food storage was destroyed with the mansion, and I have no other storerooms." Herobrine leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. "If he's trying to starve us out, it's working."

"Can't you just kill some more livestock somewhere?" Heather drummed her fingers on the table. "You can teleport anywhere, heck, you could just steal some player's food."

"Possibly. But I'd rather not influence the player base if I can help it."

"I think if Null takes over the world, the player base will be influenced a bit." Steve interjected. Herobrine shot him a withering look.

"Do you know how annoying it is to be seen by a player for half a second, then have to deal with hunters for weeks and weeks?"

"Then don't be seen."

"I had not considered that. Thank you for your sage advice."

"Anyway," Heather broke in. "Maybe Steve can go looking for food?"

"Well he can't very well visit a single player world either - just imagine the stories they'd come up with about you." Herobrine countered, glancing at his twin. "But yes, I suppose it would be more prudent for him to go looking for supplies."

"I'll try not to go too far." Steve sighed, sheathing his sword and slinging a bow over his shoulder. "You have a map I can use?"

"Only empty ones."

"Those will work fine." Herobrine passed him a blank sheet of paper, and Steve tapped it, causing a small area to light up with color. "I'll be back in a couple days at the latest. Try not to get murdered while I'm gone." With that, he gave the two of them a small wave before heading out through the door. Heather watched him for a couple moments through the window, retreating into the trees, before turning to her husband.

"So, um… what do you think Null's plan is?"

"Well, from what I've seen of him, I can only assume he's trying to diminish my forces as much as possible before instigating a fight." He responded, examining a rip in his sleeve. "I'm not entirely sure why, though. He is nearly, if not more, my match in a fight, and he can respawn. It would be simple enough for him to just continue fighting me until I was too weak to beat him."

"So then he… can't." She deduced, frowning at the table. "Unless he's determined to beat you in some specific way, like for honor or whatever, why would he not take the opportunity? He probably can't fight you over and over, he needs an edge."

"You're probably right." He admitted. "He must not be quite as powerful as he lets on."

"One possibility is that he can't teleport like you." Heather suggested. "If he got you to his spawn point he might be able to battle you down, but it's probably far away, and he doesn't have time to set it during a fight."

"Possible. He moved quickly enough in our last fight that I assumed he could teleport, but that could have just been a lack of response time on my part."

"I don't know, I think I saw him… blip, y'know? But maybe he used an Ender pearl." Thinking about Ender pearls reminded her of Manfred, and she heaved a sigh, resting her chin in her hand. "Hopefully we can get Manfred back."

"Hopefully." Herobrine agreed. "For now, though, we watch and wait. With any luck, Null won't attack before Steve comes back."

* * *

**if that aint a jinx idk what is**

**~FFF**


	17. Chapter 17

**don't forget, the more reviews I get the faster I work, and the faster I work the faster we get to The Good Stuf (tm)**

* * *

"Can I go outside?" Heather asked dully, for the fourth time that evening.

"No you may not." Herobrine turned the page of the book he was reading.

"Please? What are the odds that Null will attack right when I go outside?"

"Perhaps he's lying in wait for you in an attempt to snatch you away as soon as you're vulnerable."

"Why wouldn't he just kidnap me when I'm alone in the cabin, then?"

"Maybe he can't see you. Regardless, why do you think I'm here?"

"I don't think your logic holds up."

"Fortunately it doesn't need to." Heather sighed, lying back over the arm of the chair. About 24 hours had passed since Steve left, and there was no sign of his return yet. They were steadily whittling away at the remainder of their supplies, hopefully he got back soon. And she still wasn't allowed out of the house. She was, quite literally, getting cabin fever.

"What are you reading?" She asked idly.

"A book."

"Yeah, genius, I can tell. _What_ book?

"A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens."

"A Christmas…?" Heather sat up. "I didn't know there was classic literature in Minecraft."

"Typically, there isn't." He turned the page. "When the Book and Quill was added, several thousand years ago, I discovered how to copy large amounts of text into them. I've been collecting books for thousands of years now, some my own writing, but most collected from the internet."

"You can access the internet?"

"Heather, I transported myself out of the game and into your room. Of course I can access the internet." She huffed.

"Well, when you put it like that…"

"Most of my collection was, unfortunately, lost when the manor was destroyed." His face visibly fell, and Heather slumped a little bit in her seat. That's right, the library was where the explosions started. "I managed to recover some of my favorites, however, so at least there's that."

"Mm." She glanced at the stack of books on the floor next to his chair - that must be the remains of his collection. That was the first time she'd seen them in the cabin, he must have had them on his person. "What kinds of books did you write?"

"I kept several journals, mostly for my own reference while I learned to play the game. However, I lost them long ago. The only one I have left which I authored myself is a small guide on finding diamonds."

"Can I see?"

"Of course." He reached down to the stack beside him, pulling a thin volume out of the center and holding it out towards her until she came and collected it. As she returned to her seat, she looked at the cover - "Diamonds" was all that was written on it.

Heather flipped through the first few pages, and found general pieces of information - such as which layers diamond ore would spawn on - at first, but further on she found detailed sketches and diagrams of optimal mining strategies, the safest way to secure caves, strip mining large areas, and so on.

"Did you do all this yourself?" She asked aloud, examining the sketches on the pages. The lines were smooth and straight with little variation, almost mechanical.

"Yes. That book is a summary of my own experiences."

"It's really good."

"Thank you." Sitting back, Herobrine set his book on the top of the stack, and stood. "I'm going to go check on the mobs. Would you like to come with me?"

"And get out of this house? Heck yeah." Heather sprung to her feet, dropping the book on her seat, and Herobrine smirked at her enthusiasm.

"Come." He offered her a hand, and she took it, following as he lead her out of the cabin and onto the small, gravel path.

It was a short walk to the cave, built into a small hill, and the pair headed down a one-by-four block sloping tunnel to a vast, underground cavern. It looked like it was built out of a natural cave system, but expanded in order to house the army.

Which, by the way, she'd never actually seen before. She knew about them, obviously, but she'd never gone into the barracks back at the base, only saw the guards posted around her. It was a lot bigger than she'd imagined, and had all types of mobs, from spiders to zombie pigmen. There were even some creepers, tucked away in a group at the back of the cave.

Never letting go of her hand, Herobrine strolled through the dark cavern, occasionally stopping to have a quick conversation in reverse with some of the Endermen. Some of the mobs gave Heather weird looks, but otherwise didn't mess with her. They knew better than to cross their king.

Once he made it around the room, he returned to the tunnel, leaving Heather by the exit for a moment to check the contents of a few chests. Probably looking for food. She watched the army milling around, noting some mobs sticking near others of their race, but others mingling with those nothing like them.

Then she saw an Enderman appear, set down a creeper, and vanish.

"Herobrine." She said immediately, catching his attention. Another Enderman appeared, then another, both carrying creepers, before they disappeared. Instantly, her husband was at her side, and he shouted something in reverse. The creepers began to flash, but some of their Endermen grabbed them and vanished before they could cause any damage.

"Good eye." Herobrine patted her shoulder, then hurried off towards the center of the room. Heather watched as he called out in backwards and his Endermen moved towards him, garbled voices echoing in the cavern as they had a rushed conversation.

A muffled explosion rocked the earth.

Her husband appeared at her side again, but instantly the room filled with Endermen, each with a creeper that was already halfway to exploding. Herobrine teleported away with her, outside, only to find the cabin in flames. A hiss sounded behind them, and her surroundings vanished again. This time, they were on top of a mountain.

"What's going on?" Heather gasped out, clinging to her husband's arm.

"This must be Null's plan." Endermen appeared, surrounding the pair, but Herobrine just teleported again. The Endermen reappeared around them. "They're following me."

"How?"

"They have to be tracking me somehow." Letting go of her, he drew a diamond sword, which glimmered purple in the light. "Don't move." He stepped forward, attacking one of the Endermen, and Heather glanced behind herself warily. Fortunately, they didn't seem to care about her.

Herobrine had already taken out half the Endermen by the time she turned around, moving too quickly for them to land a hit on him. Confident that there was no immediate threat to her, she checked out her surroundings. A giant spruce forest, the first time she'd seen one. The sun was setting, she noted. Would other mobs be spawning soon?

A hand clamped over her mouth, and she could only let out a muffled shriek before the forest around her was replaced by blackness.

* * *

**If null tried to kidnap me and use me as bait I would simply say no.**

**Rip to Heather but I'm different**

**~FFF**


	18. Chapter 18

**review replies:**

**GiggiEba: Yeah, unfortunately I think in the original (x reader) version, it flows a bit better, cause I wrote it to be first person and present tense and I didnt totally fix that, just the obvious bits. But yeah, glad you enjoy it!**

**Mayor of Ninjago City: *hurls this chapter at you* it actually might be worse now but**

**FemaleGeek: She'll be fine, she has a nice husband to take care of her**

* * *

Heather was shoved to the ground, and landed hard on her knees as she let out a yelp.

"**Oh shut up.**" Her head jerked up at Null's voice, and she examined the darkness in vain until she spotted a pair of glowing eyes.

"You!"

"**Yes, me. Who else?**" Struggling upright, Heather planted her feet, trying to figure out where she was. Slowly, the room began to come into view as her eyes adjusted to the light. She could see mobs, some zombies, shambling around in the darkness. Null was just watching her, a jet-black silhouette in the already-dark room.

"Put me back!" She snapped, stomping a foot. "What the heck do you want with me?" A thought occurred to her, and she added, "And Manfred! What did you do with him?!"

"**Well, first off, I don't think you're in any position to be making demands.**" Null pointed out. "**And second, why don't you come with me?**" A dark hand beckoned her as he turned away, walking towards the other end of the room, and she warily followed.

Null lead her into another room, and she finally had enough light to recognize the chamber she was in as part of a cave system. Unfortunately, the reason she could see this was because the tunnel ended in a dead end, an abrupt stop into a pool of lava.

"**Oh, come on. I'm not going to hurt you.**" Null coaxed as Heather hesitated in the entrance. "**There's no gain to come from me burning you alive.**" She shuddered. Comforting. Regardless, she obeyed, following him into the cavern.

"You said you'd bring me to Manfred."

"**Actually no, I didn't. I told you to come with me. But I will show him to you.**" He must be mind-controlled again. Heather watched suspiciously as Null turned towards her, then held out his hand. "**Here.**" There was something in his palm, and she edged closer to take it. Retreating again, she examined the object handed to her, and it was a few moments before she realized exactly what he'd given her.

An Ender pearl.

"No." Heather exclaimed. "No, you didn't-"

"**And why not? He was just another mob who refused to serve me.**" Null shrugged. "**But I kept his pearl for you. Perhaps he can help you, just one more time."**

"You- you sick _freak!_" Tears welling up in her eyes, Heather closed the pearl in her fist, charging at him. He _tsk_ed at her as she got close, and, as she threw a punch blindly, he grabbed her arm, twisting it behind her and pinning her in a headlock. Heather gasped. His skin was freezing, sapping the heat from her body where his hands were on her.

"**I don't know why you did that, with no hope of even hurting me, but who am I to judge human emotions?**" He dropped her, and Heather crumpled to the ground, scrambling away. "**Stay there and stay quiet. I'll be back shortly.**" Null turned to leave, and she grabbed a fragment of rock, hurling it at him and watching as it bounced off his shoulder. He just sighed.

He left her in the room, and she curled up on the lava-warmed stone, crying over the Ender pearl in her hands. Mobs didn't respawn. Manfred was gone.

A few minutes passed, and Null returned, a few skeleton archers with him. He directed them to a few spots around the cavern - no doubt setting up his fight with Herobrine. Dirty *******.

"**Don't look so glum.**" He scolded her. "**Your husband should be here any minute now."**

"Oh, whoopee! I get to be bait! _Again!_" Heather infused as much venom into her voice as possible, but Null looked unphased. Clearly he didn't see her as even a minor threat.

"If it's not too much trouble..." A voice rang out through the room, and Heather jerked her head up from the ground. Herobrine. "_Please _return my wife. We wouldn't want this to get _messy._"

Her husband was in the mouth of the cavern, his sword drawn and readied. His eyes fell on her, and he was beside her in an instant, taking her arm and teleporting her back with him to the tunnel. "Heather, are you alright? What happened?" He brushed a tear away with his thumb, and Heather blinked at the unusual display of affection.

"He killed M-Manfred." She uncurled her fist, showing him the pearl, and his face hardened.

"It's alright." He pulled her close, and Heather buried her face in his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her. He was so _strong_, he could crush her easily, but he didn't. He just held her gently, a barrier between her and Null.

"**This is quite touching, but could we get on with this?**" The entity in question interrupted, and Herobrine lifted his head.

"If you're so eager to fight me, you could have just asked."

"**I never said I was going to fight you.**" Null countered. "**Why would I, when my friend here can do it for me?**" Heather heard an Ender pearl hit the ground, and lifted her head, twisting around to see what had happened. A human figure was standing next to Null, a silhouette against the light of the lava behind him. As she watched, he lifted his head, and she cried out,

"_Steve!_" The miner stared blankly back at her, eyes jet black and emotionless.

"**I'm not sure if you're aware, but as the God of the mobs, I can take control of any AI in the game - that is, unless they have free will. And Steve, dear old Steve-**" Null reached over to pat Steve on the shoulder. "**Well, he doesn't."**

"Let go of him!" Heather screamed, pushing away from Herobrine, but he held her tight.

"Listen to me. Steve will be fine. If he is killed, he'll just respawn. It's okay."

"But-!"

"Listen. Stay right here, understand? I can't take you to safety, I don't know of anywhere else that _is_ safe. Stay where I can see you. He will not kill me."

"How can you know that?"

"Just trust me."

"**I somehow doubt that.**" Null tossed an Ender pearl, jumping to a ledge above the battleground. Herobrine stood as Steve drew a sword, stepping away from his wife.

"Stay there. Understand?" Heather nodded. "Thank you." Turning away, he raised his weapon, approaching the center of the cavern.

On the ledge, Null closed his eyes, and Steve lurched forward, swinging his sword at Herobrine's head.

* * *

Herobrine sidestepped the attack, tripping Steve as he passed by and sending him stumbling to the ground. He was far more reckless and clumsy than usual, he noted as Steve scrambled back to his feet. His normal fighting style was far more precise. The miner charged again, but Herobrine dodged him effortlessly. Was this the extent of his ability?

This time, however, Steve drew a bow and began to fire at him. Herobrine quickly lifted his sword, deflecting the first and ducking under the second as he moved to stop the attack, but Steve hurled a splash potion at him and he was forced to retreat as poison licked at the ground he stood on.

A glance at Null revealed that he was standing still on the ledge, eyes closed. Controlling Steve. Pulling up a couple blocks of obsidian, Herobrine created a quick shield, waiting for Steve to approach before slipping around the pillar and slicing the bow in half. Immediately, his sword was drawn again, and Steve whirled around, aiming a blow at his head. Herobrine ducked it, but only barely. His fighting style far more resembled Null's than the Steve he had battled with before.

Equipping his own sword once more, Herobrine spun around and landed a hit on his diamond armor, causing a shrieking sound to ring out through the cavern as the miner stumbled back. Steve only hesitated a moment, though, before renewing his attack, laying down blow after blow on his opponent's sword. He was relentless, and he was wearing him down. Sooner or later, one of them was going to slip up.

Deflecting a strike to his stomach, Herobrine drew his pickaxe in his off-hand and swung it, hooking Steve's blade as it connected with his. Planting a foot on his stomach, Herobrine pushed off his opponent, yanking the sword from his grip and sending it flying off the platform to dissolve in the lava.

Steve was on the ground, a look of puzzlement on his face. Taking advantage of his momentary stillness, Herobrine teleported on top of him, shoving him down with a boot on his chest and the tip of his sword at his throat. Several ticks passed, then the miner's clouded eyes cleared, and he blinked in confusion.

"What the _he_-"

"I see you're back to your old self again." Relaxing his stance, but not letting him up yet, Herobrine looked up to check on Null - watching them silently. "This was the battle you were so confident you would win?"

"**You really think that's all I have for you?**" Null scoffed. "**Please. If he could kill you, he would have done so long ago."**

"Steve?" Heather's voice rang out in the cavern, and Herobrine turned to see her taking a hesitant step in their direction.

"Stay back." He barked, causing her to stop short. "I have to kill him. Null can just take control of him in a moment's notice."

"What?!" Steve protested. "What are you talking about? What's going on?!"

"I apologize." Turning back to him, Herobrine slit his throat, and Steve let out a choked gasp before disappearing in a shower of yellow sparks. Heather emitted a horrified sound, but Herobrine had no time to deal with her as an Ender pearl landed beside him, and Null swung a black sword at his heart.

* * *

**see there's one of those cliffhangers**

**~FFF**


	19. Chapter 19

**A good song to listen to while reading this chapter is "Living in a Nightmare" by Blacklite District. And while you're at it, check out FrediSaalAnimations' music video that uses it. Please. I'm like the only one in the Griefer Legends fandom.**

* * *

Herobrine whirled around to block it, sparks flying as his blade scraped against Null's, and Heather jumped at the screeching sound that echoed through the cave. Neither of them even hesitated, though, Null wasting no time and drawing another sword to use as Herobrine slashed at his stomach. Herobrine was faster, she noted, than the last time she watched him fight Null. Maybe because they weren't surrounded by mobs anymore.

Then she remembered, and Heather peered up into the darkness of the cave. Sure enough, there were skeleton archers lurking in the shadows, watching the fight below them. Heather opened her mouth to warn him, but hesitated. What if she distracted him and he slipped up? Null was almost as fast as him, even one mistake could mean his death. She'd have to wait until the fight died down a bit.

Herobrine was fighting with his pick again, and as she watched he managed to disarm Null of one of his swords - which skid on the ground and landed by her foot. Hesitantly, Heather reached down and grabbed it. The handle was freezing, but she wanted to have a weapon, just in case.

Null drew another sword - what the heck, how many was he carrying? - and continued fighting, swinging blow after blow at her husband, who was struggling to keep up, backing up towards the lava. His pickaxe wasn't as good as a sword for blocking attacks.

One attack slipped past his pick, and he stopped it with a block of obsidian in his other hand, but the movement threw him off balance and he slipped on the edge of the platform, nearly falling into the lava. Heather covered her mouth with her hands as Null swung, slamming the hilt of his sword into Herobrine's head and knocking him backwards towards the lava.

And then Herobrine teleported behind him, kicking him into the lava instead.

Heather let out a huge breath as Null fell off the platform, whirling around and throwing an Ender pearl at the far wall just as he hit the lava. He dropped back onto the ledge, smoke curling up from his scorched body, and pulled out a pink potion. Regeneration, maybe?

"Getting tired?" Herobrine mocked, lifting his pick towards him as he drank it.

"**Hardly.**" Lifting a hand, he snapped his fingers, and Heather remembered the skeletons just as arrows began to rain down from the darkness.

"Herobrine!" She yelped, but he'd already vanished, and she looked up to see a skeleton crumple off its' platform to shatter on the rock below. He teleported to the next, and Null looked up as his backup plan was destroyed, one by one. He appeared to think for a second, then glanced at Heather.

"**Shoot her.**"

Quickly, Heather lifted the sword to try to defend herself as the skeletons turned in her direction, firing at her without missing a beat. Herobrine appeared in front of her, striking one arrow out of the air, but the next lodged itself in his shoulder and he took a step back to catch his balance.

"Get back, into the tunnel." He ordered, and she scrambled to her feet, retreating back into the darkness. An arrow pinged off the wall next to her, and she stopped short at the sight of more skeletons coming down the tunnel towards her.

Arms wrapped around Heather from behind, and she was teleported to one of the ledges the skeletons had been standing on, Herobrine setting her down against the wall before he disappeared again. Curling up against the stone, Heather made herself as small as possible, trying not to be a target.

"**I said shoot her, ******, why do I keep you around?" **Null complained, followed by the sound of metal on metal. The skeletons were gone, at least the ones on those ledges, and she crept to the edge of the platform to watch the fight. The height sent a rush of adrenaline through her, but she couldn't pull herself away. At the very least, she needed to make sure her husband was okay.

The arrow was gone from his shoulder, Heather noted, blood staining his shirt, and he was duel-wielding a sword and pick now. Null was backing him up towards the lava again, but Herobrine didn't look too concerned. He could just teleport out, after all.

When is this going to end, Heather wondered? Backup wasn't coming, not for Herobrine, and Null had plenty of mobs if he needed them. Not to mention he could just respawn. She and Herobrine really just needed to get out of there, maybe regroup somewhere, find Steve, contact Notch for help. Herobrine can't get rid of him on his own.

On the ground, Herobrine stabbed Null through the heart, and the black creature disappeared in a puff of smoke and yellow sparkles.

Heather breathed out in relief as her husband lowered his sword, sheathing it and looking up at her. She gave him a thumbs-up, and he gave her a small smile in return.

"Stay there." He instructed, then disappeared. Heather made her way back against the wall, still clinging to the black sword. She wasn't entirely sure where he went, maybe to finish off the remaining mobs, but she's not taking any chances when he's not in sight.

After a few minutes, she heard footsteps echoing down the tunnel, and peeked down to see her husband entering the cavern again.

Followed immediately by Null, sword poised to strike.

"Hey!" Heather yelped, and Herobrine swung around just in time to block the blow, but Null followed up with another strike, knocking the pick out of his hand. Herobrine drew his sword, but in the next second he was disarmed of it as well. Slipping past the next strike, he slammed his hand into Null's back, and thunder echoed through the cave as the black creature was thrown several feet by a lightning strike.

Herobrine teleported to his pick, reaching down to grab it, but Null appeared behind him and he threw himself out of the way just in time to avoid being beheaded. On his back, Herobrine was forced to grab Null's sword as his opponent stabbed at his heart, the blade biting into his hands as he shoved it to the side and electrocuted Null with bloody hands.

Heather's heart thudded in her chest as she watched her husband stumble back, wiping one hand on his shirt before retrieving his weapon. He was going to lose. Going to die. He needed to get out of there.

"**Getting tired?**" Null taunted, and Herobrine let out a breath.

"Hardly."

"**Good. Wouldn't want this to get boring.**" Null approached again, and Herobrine raised his weapon preemptively, but his pickaxe was knocked out of his hand by the first blow. He's tired. He lifted his hand, lightning dancing around him, but Null ignored it, slashing at his chest and slicing open his shirt. He was going to lose.

Herobrine teleported back a couple of feet, guarding his chest with his wounded arm. He wasn't going to make it out. She had to do something, had to help. Heather looked down at the sword in her hand, then the drop. She couldn't get down. Unless… she opened her left hand. If she had to…

"**Come on, oh mighty Herobrine.**" Null taunted, casually strolling towards him. "**Is that all you've got?**" Herobrine didn't answer. Null swung at him, and he dodged, but stumbled to the ground. "**Come on, fight me!" **Null slammed his sword down onto him, but he teleported a foot to the right. "**I said **_**fight me!**_" Herobrine let his arm drop to his side, and his eyes fell shut. Was he giving up?!

Null approached, sword readied, but your husband didn't even flinch. "**Rather a disappointing end, but oh well.**" The creature shrugged, lifting his sword.

Before she had a chance to think about it, Heather threw the Ender pearl, lifting her sword and closing her eyes. An instant later, pain exploded in her shoulder, and she screamed.

* * *

**remember when I said you didn't have to worry about cliffhangers? yeah maybe not**

**~FFF**


	20. Chapter 20

**lets get ONE more out before bed**

**Review replies:**

**Mayor of Ninjago City: I await in suspense aplenty for your next rhyme **

**FemaleGeek: Poor Manfred didn't deserve any of this.**

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Chapter 20

Heather stared down at Null's sword, buried up to the hilt in her left shoulder, and let out a squeak. Null looked almost as shocked as she was. Blood was spreading on her sleeve, and she could feel the weight of the sword throwing her off balance. She was starting to feel dizzy, but didn't know what to do.

Null shrugged and wrenched the sword out of her body, and her vision flashed white as she collapsed.

She hit something soft, and let out a pained noise as she struggled to focus on Null above her. He's raising his sword again. This was a stupid idea, now they're both just gonna die and-

Null and the cave disappeared, and she fell into a bank of soft snow.

Heather gasped, the cold shocking her brain into comprehending the situation, and she pushed herself up with her good arm. A tundra biome…?

Herobrine was motionless in the snow next to her, red staining the snow around him. That reminded her of her own injury, and her head whipped around to examine her shoulder. Her arm had a sword-sized hole in it, leaking blood, and a wave of dizziness swept through her again. She had to stop the bleeding.

Biting down hard on her lip, Heather started trying to tug off her jacket. She knew how to make an improvised tourniquet, and she had a torch in her inventory she could use to apply it. Unfortunately, trying to remove her stabbed shoulder from her sleeve was an incredibly painful process, and by the time she'd gotten it off her uninjured hand was shaking almost too much to tie the sleeve in a knot around her shoulder. Almost.

Heather tightened the tourniquet, tugging at the fabric with her teeth until she couldn't feel her left arm anymore - or maybe that was the cold? - then finally started to make her way over to her husband. With no hands free, as one was keeping pressure on her arm and the other totally numb, she settled for shouting at him instead. He didn't wake up.

Carefully, she leaned down and pressed her head to Herobrine's chest. His heart was beating, and his body was still warm, he's alive, he just… wouldn't wake up.

She was pretty sure in a situation like this that she shouldn't fall asleep, but she was exhausted, and didn't see how staying awake will help. So, she curled up in the snow next to her husband, and let herself drift off to sleep.

* * *

Herobrine awoke several hours later to a giant spider chewing on his leg.

Swearing, he shoved himself upright, sending the creature scuttling into the darkness. Looking around, he found himself in several feet of snow, much of which was stained red with blood.

He was wounded, an arrow wound on his arm and several cuts on his hands, but they couldn't possibly be the source of all this blood, could they? No, and unless he had been moving around in his sleep, it wouldn't have spread the way this had. He began to search for the source of the gore, but he didn't have to look far.

His wife was huddled against his side in the snow - he didn't know how he hadn't noticed her immediately - her lips tinged blue from cold and her clothing stained with blood. A crude tourniquet was wrapped around her shoulder, apparently the source of the blood, but it was very loose and did almost nothing to stop the blood flowing from the wound in her shoulder. He could see her breath fog in the air, she was alive, but he doubted she would be for much longer.

Ignoring the pain in his arm, he scooped her up and cradled her to his chest, trying to warm her freezing body. Her jacket was gone, used to try and bind her wound, but that likely did more harm that good as the job was shoddily done.

He rocked her back and forth, his mind racing. She was going to die if she was not cared for soon, but his manor was destroyed, his stores of potions gone, and he couldn't recall any other place that Null hadn't already destroyed. There was no way he could acquire the ingredients for a health potion in time to save her, he may be able to invade a player base, but he did not know of any that would certainly be stocked with potions, and if the player was there they may just-

Steve.

Despite their most recent interaction, he still cared enough to save Heather, didn't he? His base was huge, and, with all the equipment he continued to turn up with, he had to have potions. Tightening his arms around his wife, Herobrine teleported outside Steve's base, and flinched as his energy reserves dropped from the jump. He already had far too little energy, undoubtedly from his fight with Null. At least, he could assume. He couldn't remember how it ended.

Getting to his feet, Herobrine made his way up to the door, cradling his wife in his arms, and pushed it open without bothering to knock. Steve likely had left as soon as he respawned, after all.

Quickly, he searched the base, taking a couple minutes to locate a room filled with brewing stands. Checking a couple of chests, he soon located a splash potion of regeneration, which he shattered on the ground beneath him to heal them both. She can't drink while unconscious, after all.

Sinking down to the stone floor, he watched as some of the color began to return to her pale body. The bleeding in her arm was beginning to slow as well, and he retrieved another potion from the chest for when that one wore off.

He uses a couple more potions before the wound closed completely, then untied her jacket from around her arm and folded it, putting it in his own inventory. She'd been so protective of it since she came here, he'd hate to have to see her lose it.

She's stable now, but still unconscious, so he carried her back to the front room and sat down on a couch, holding her carefully as he waited for her to wake up. He pressed his lips to the top of her head, one hand on her wrist so he could feel her pulse. She'd be alright.

"Oh come _on._" A voice from outside caught his attention, and he looked up. "I swear I closed this… if an Enderman took my crafting table again I'm gonna-" Steve stepped through the door, saw him, and stopped short. "What on Notch's green world-"

"Heather was bleeding out." Herobrine interrupted. "I had no potions, so I brought her here so I could save her." In his arms, Heather shifted, and he glanced down to see her mumble something in her sleep.

"Holy- that's a lot of blood." Recovering from his shock, Steve crossed the room towards them and knelt next to the couch, setting the pick in his hand on the floor. "What happened?"

"I don't know. I-"

"How do you not know?!"

"Perhaps if you let me _speak_, I could tell you." Herobrine fixed him with a glare. "The last few minutes of my fight with Null are a blur, and I woke up elsewhere with Heather bleeding heavily beside me. I do not remember her being injured."

"Geez." He reached up to brush her hair out of her face, grimacing when his hand came back with blood on it. "Did he kill you?"

"No. Almost." He glanced down at the new scar on his shoulder. "I suppose I must have teleported out with her - that, or we were saved by someone else. Null would have killed me otherwise, and she would have bled out soon afterwards."

"Ah." Neither of them spoke for a few moments. "So… what are we going to do with him."

"Null? I don't know." Herobrine drummed his fingers on the arm of the couch. "He respawns whenever I kill him, and apparently that was his respawn point, as he reappeared fairly quickly and resumed the fight after I killed him once. But you're right, we need to get rid of him. If he's going to continue harassing me, Heather's going to eventually get caught between us and killed. She can't respawn."

"Yeah. But I gathered from the little bit you told me before _murdering me-_" Steve paused to glare. "That I was being controlled by Null, so I can't really help. And killing him doesn't seem to deter him in the slightest, so…"

"...so we should probably contact Notch." Herobrine finished with a sigh. "Since he's the only one more powerful than I am."

"...or Null."

"Null got lucky."

"Sure he did." Steve got back to his feet. "I'm going to go try to find him. Notch, that is. Don't grief my base." He pointed a stern finger at him, but Herobrine just rolled his eyes.

"It was one time."

"Yeah, well, don't think I've forgotten." The miner scowled at him, then headed for the door, stopping in the entryway to look back at him. "Keep her safe, alright?" Herobrine nodded, and he left, shutting the door behind him and leaving his base in silence.

* * *

**I miss manfred**

**~FFF**


	21. Chapter 21

**I return after a long week at school to bring you this Short Chapter**

**Review replies:**

**GiggiEba: haha yeah, herobrine yeeting null into the lava was the best part of that fight.**

**JustaFemaleGeek: welcome to the #wemissmanfred club, it consists of everyone**

* * *

Heather awoke to darkness and a pounding headache.

She groaned, reaching up to grab her head, but a hand took hers and her eyes flew open.

"You're awake." Herobrine's face was right above her, and Heather blinked before glancing around to take in her surroundings. She was in a wooden room, lit by glowstone torches and some sea lanterns. She glanced down at her shoulder, the pain in which had been reduced to a dull ache, to find the giant hole in it gone. Apparently she was saved?

"Wha' happened?" She asked, her words slurring together slightly. "Where are we?"

"We're in Steve's base. I brought you here after I found you bleeding heavily."

"Ah, yeah." Heather pulled her hand away to rub her aching forehead. "Agh, my head hurts bad. That's not fair, I didn't even get hit in the head."

"Likely from blood loss." He brushed her hair back before lifting his head, glancing at the door. "What happened to you? You nearly died."

"_I _nearly died? You were- Null was _this_ close to finishing you off!" Heather held up her thumb and index finger, half an inch apart. "At least he wasn't aiming for me!"

"Heather, tell me what happened." He turned to face her again. "I don't remember much past Null reappearing and attacking me. How did we get where I woke up? How were you injured?" She frowned, shifting to pillow her head on his shoulder.

"I think you must've teleported us, but, uh, from the beginning, Null came back and started fighting you, and he disarmed you, you were acting really tired and he got a couple hits on you. He knocked you down and you didn't move, so I threw Manfred's pearl-" Heather's voice caught and she coughed to clear her throat. "And teleported between you, trying to block him with the sword I grabbed earlier. It didn't work too well."

"Clearly not. Heather-"

"Wait, hang on, I'm not done." She interrupt. "He hit me, and I fell, I think on top of you, and you teleported us away. I bound my arm and tried to wake you up, but you… wouldn't. So I fell asleep." She stopped. "Now I'm done."

"Heather, that was _incredibly _risky. He could have killed you, _easily._"

"He was about to kill you!"

"That doesn't matter, you should have stayed where you were and-"

"-and just die after you were dead?" She interrupted. "Even if he let me go, I wouldn't have survived long. I can't fight, and I didn't have any armor. I'd get killed by mobs or starve to death, and that's only if Null didn't kill me on the spot." Her husband was silent, and she continued. "Manfred's dead, Steve was Null's puppet, and there's no way he would find me before I was killed. You're the only one who can keep me safe. I _need _you."

Herobrine didn't speak for a few, long moments, then pulled her close and buried his face in her shoulder.

"Thank you." He said as she froze, his voice muffled slightly by her shirt. "For saving my life." Heather hesitated, then wrapped her arms around his neck, closing her eyes and resting her forehead on his shoulder. Neither of them moved for a little while, and she pressed her head into the crook of his neck, listening to his pulse. He's alive. He's safe.

For now, everything was okay.

* * *

**yee**

**~FFF**


	22. Chapter 22

**we now have Slightly Longer Chapter**

**review reply:**

**FemaleGeek: gosh same. that chapter was incredibly self-indulgent.**

* * *

_Bryn watched silently as the other player chopped down a tree, turning the blocks of wood into planks and continuing to build his house. A shelter from the monsters that came out at night._

_Turning away, he walked back into the thick mist, dragging his stone pickaxe beside him as he made his way through the sparse forest. He couldn't see more than a few feet ahead of him due to the obscuring fog, which didn't make way for him like it did the other players. An enemy could be anywhere, and he wouldn't know until he was dead._

_A footstep sounded in the trees off to his right, and he immediately took cover behind a small hill. The mist was shifting, moving away from the source of the footsteps. A player. The figure stepped into view, crossing the small clearing before disappearing again, and Bryn took a step out of cover, blank eyes wide with amazement. The player's armor, it was blue. He'd never seen blue armor before._

_Bryn followed the stranger back to his shelter, built with grey bricks and wooden planks. Night was falling, so the stranger went inside. There were animals penned up outside, he could use them for food. His hunger bar was nearly empty. But the stranger… he couldn't let himself be seen, the player would kill him. He'd wait until the stranger was asleep._

_Bryn waited in the trees until the moon began to rise, then edged towards the building. He could hear zombies groaning in the woods, he needed to get inside. The stranger should be asleep. He moved past the animals in their pens, ignoring the ambient noises they made, and eased the door open an inch to peek inside. No one in sight, so he made his way through the doorway._

_There was no sign of the stranger in the first room, but there were furnaces and chests, so Bryn began to check them. There was iron and coal inside, and he took it, storing it in his own inventory. He checked another chest, and found a stack of apples. He ate a few of then, then backed away towards the door. He needed to go before the stranger woke up._

_He had a hand on the door before he heard it- a skeleton rattling just outside. He didn't have armor, he'd die quickly if he left now. He'd have to stay until it despawned._

_Backing up, Bryn examined the room he stood in. There were a few exits, presumably to other rooms. If the skeleton didn't respawn before the stranger woke up, he'd have to hide somewhere._

_He explored the shelter quickly. One room had chests and empty armor stands, another had a bed - in which the stranger was sleeping. Bryn holed up in the room with the chests, sitting down in a corner and waiting._

_The night passed slowly. He could still hear mobs outside, so he couldn't risk leaving. Finally, he heard mobs burning in the sun, and got up to leave, but froze at the sound of footsteps on wood._

_Crossing the room over to the doorway, Bryn pressed himself against the wall, waiting for the stranger. He waited for an agonizingly long time, listening to footsteps and the clinking of metal on metal in the other room, before the stranger abruptly appeared, stepping past him and opening a chest. Slipping through the doorway, Bryn ran out the door and into the woods. He heard a shout, but paid it no heed, fleeing into the mist._

_He needed his own shelter._

* * *

Notch was going to help them.

Steve had returned later that day with the good news, telling them that he'd be there tomorrow to help them plan. Herobrine didn't seem entirely thrilled, but he'd agreed that it needed to be done. So the three of them spent the night there, at Steve's base - Heather physically between her two bodyguards on a pair of beds that Steve crafted for them. Apparently they weren't taking any chances about her being kidnapped again.

Herobrine continued to act… different. He's still tall, dark, and mysterious, but he acted… happier, maybe. He smiled more, and fought with Steve less. They actually seemed like they were getting along now. He touched Heather more, usually her arm, just simple gestures while he's talking to or passing by her. She didn't question it. He looked like he was just getting attached to her.

Around noon, Notch arrived.

Heather was playing (losing at) checkers with Steve in the front room, with Herobrine across the room reading, when a crack of thunder sounded outside the base. Since her husband could harness lightning, she was pretty used to it, but Heather turned to find the source anyway - it was a sunny, clear day. She couldn't see anything out of the ordinary through the windows, but Steve spoke up.

"That's probably Notch." He scooted his chair back and stood. A moment later, a knock sounded at the door, and Heather retreated to the couch with her husband. She wasn't sure if it was social anxiety or just a bad vibe, but she'd rather observe "Notch" for a bit before meeting him.

Steve opened the door, and Herobrine flinched, looking away. The man in the doorway was bald with a black beard - just like the typical depiction of Notch - and was about Steve's height, so about 6'2. While his description was unassuming enough, Heather felt a chill run through her as she watched him greet her host. He had an imposing air about him, powerful, like he could kill her with little more than a thought if he deemed it necessary.

He and Steve had a quiet talk, then he looked up and approached the couch she and Herobrine were seated on. Herobrine met his eyes, and they stared at each other for a few moments before Notch looked away and offers her a hand.

"You must be Miss Heather." She stood to shake his hand.

"Mrs, technically, but yeah. You must be Notch."

"Yes." His eyes were dark, the opposite of Herobrine's white ones, and she felt like he could see through her. He glanced at her husband. "Bryn. You're still alive." Herobrine ignored him.

Behind Notch, Steve cleared his throat. "Come on, let's go to the kitchen to talk."

"Good idea." Heather pulled her hand out of Notch's grip, grabbing Herobrine's hand instead and tugging him up from the couch. He resisted her at first, but she gave him a meaningful look and he relented. Leading him past Notch, Heather followed Steve towards the kitchen.

* * *

Steve did most of the talking, as Notch and Herobrine gave each other the stink eye every time the other spoke. After a while, they seemed to at least slightly bond over their mutual agreement that they needed to get rid of Null, and put aside their fighting to talk about how to get rid of him.

Plotting went on late into the evening, and eventually they agreed that Herobrine would attack Null and kill him, then Notch would try to alter his code while he was weakened. Steve would stay with Heather, because he was able to be mind controlled. Once they were in agreement, Herobrine and Notch left for the night to go try and seek out their enemy.

Heather spent the night with Steve again. It was kind of lonely in his base, just him and a few dogs and cats. She asked him about it, and he said he didn't have the same capacity for loneliness as a real human. He was designed to live by himself in this lonely world. Heather couldn't help but feel sad at that, although she wasn't entirely sure why. Regardless, the two of them had a nice evening, and Heather went to bed feeling comfortable and safe.

* * *

**only good things can come from this**

**~FFF**


	23. Chapter 23

**I should really go eat lunch**

* * *

"You know, if you spend all your time watching me, how can you be paying attention to Null?" Notch asked crossly. Herobrine raised one eyebrow.

"Obviously, once I'm in battle I'll have my full attention on my opponent."

"And if he takes you by surprise?"

"That will not happen if you do your job and keep an eye out for him."

"I'm fairly certain that _my_ job is to let you kill him and then try to break down his wall." Herobrine opened his mouth to respond, but Notch slapped a hand over his mouth to shut him up. Lightning was already charging in his hand when Notch pointed, and Herobrine followed his gaze to a pair of glowing eyes in the darkness. The older man removed his hand, and Herobrine gave him a harsh look before slipping out from behind the rocks they hid behind and drawing his pick.

"**Oh, you're back already?**" Null turned as he got close, his own sword appearing in his hand. "**After how much trouble it was to lure you out of your hiding places the first couple of times, I confess I thought it would be much longer before I saw you again.**"

"Perhaps I'm tired of waiting for you to make the first move." Herobrine lifted his sword, sliding his foot for better leverage and waiting for his opponent to approach. Null scoffed, then started to walk towards him.

"**Confident, aren't you?**"

"No more or less than before." Null swung at him, and he caught it with the edge of his pick, twisting it and yanking the sword out of his hand. Null moved with the force and spun around, swinging at him with a second sword, and Herobrine moved to block it. Their fights often lasted a while, but usually Null had a hold over him with Heather. He should end this quickly.

Drawing a sword in his left hand, he swung at Null's head, catching his chin as he ducked out of the way, and his opponent growled as he retreated to the opposite wall. He pulled out a potion, but Herobrine lunged at him, slashing at his neck. He couldn't be allowed to get an advantage. Null parried it with his own sword, then pulled out an axe and swung it at him with both hands. Herobrine ducked it and slashed at his knees. Null stumbled back, but hit the wall and Herobrine slammed his pick into his chest, killing him.

"Simple enough." Herobrine stepped back, twirling his pick in his hand, before glancing back over at Notch. His older counterpart closed his eyes, and the air shimmered around him as his hands began to glow. Herobrine watched as Notch stood in silence for a few moments, then the light faded and his eyes opened.

"Nothing." He reported grimly. "I couldn't get through." Herobrine sighed, twirling his pick in his hand again before returning it to his pack.

"Then let's return and speak to Steve and Heather about this. There must be another way." Notch nodded, and disappeared. Herobrine started to write a teleportation command, but stopped, hesitating in the darkness for a moment. This was Null's base. Was it possible that Manfred might be still alive…?

Turning, Herobrine drew his pick again and ventured down the tunnel. There was no way to distinguish an Enderman just from their pearl, so it's possible that Null used a fake to throw him and Heather off. For her sake, he would search for him, just in case.

Quietly, Herobrine made his way through the base, sticking to the shadows - not that he could ever be entirely hidden, not with his glowing eyes. Fortunately for him, mobs were not the best at detection.

He found a room full of supplies, and took the opportunity to fill his inventory with food. No reason to let this go to waste. Did Null even need to eat?

Speak of the devil, he heard Null's voice echoing down the passage. Emptying the remains of the chest into his inventory, he moved to the doorframe and waited. Null's voice faded, and he hurried out of the room. He shouldn't have much more to search.

Herobrine crept past a few more groups of mobs before making it to a dead end - a room filled with cages. Most were empty, a few had mob heads or skulls in them. Manfred was nowhere to be found.

Giving up, Herobrine turned around, and an arrow slammed into his chest.

"**Go on, shoot him.**" Null encouraged as his posse of skeletons attacked, and Herobrine groaned, teleporting behind one of the cages. Skeletons couldn't see through transparent blocks, he'd be safe behind the iron bars. Fingering the arrow through his heart, he contemplated his best escape route. Null couldn't teleport, as far as he knew, so he might be able to teleport straight back to Steve's base.

But he might be able to track him somehow, and Steve would never let him hear the end of it if he lead Null back there. He could teleport somewhere else and heal up first. Herobrine glanced over his shoulder, then teleported elsewhere in the mountain, back to the caves where he and Notch had tried to defeat Null. Pulling a stack of steak out of his inventory, he ate one, watching as his body began to mend around the arrow.

And then Null appeared, an Enderman at his side.

Herobrine teleported outside, but Null and his escort followed. He could track him, just like the Endermen had before when he had tried to bring Heather to safety. He had to kill him before Null took him out. He teleported behind them, replacing the steak in his hand with a sword, but the Enderman teleported before he could run him through and Null parried his attack.

The arrow in his chest was getting in his way, so he teleported a good distance away and snapped it off at the base. Pain shot through him at the action, but he tossed the shaft aside and readied himself for Null's next attack. His opponent wasn't moving, but the Enderman vanished in a shower of purple sparks and Herobrine threw himself aside just in time to avoid being attacked from behind. Null appeared over him, and he rolled just in time to avoid the sword that slammed into the ground where he used to be. Teleporting a few feet away, Herobrine snapped,

"?mih rof gnikrow uoy era yhW" The Enderman didn't answer.

"**If you're trying to stall for time, it won't work.**" Null informed him. "**And if you're trying to convert him, that won't work either.**"

"I don't recall asking you."

"**Oh, you're still confident. Lovely.**" Null hurled a block of TNT at him, and Herobrine teleported out of range of the explosion. The Enderman could teleport as fast as him, if not faster. It would be difficult to sneak up on him.

Jumping through space in a series of short bursts, Herobrine attacked the Enderman, trying to land a hit on him while Null attacked him from behind. Neither of them could land a hit on their opponent, but Herobrine was outnumbered and his energy was draining quickly. If he had to, he could escape to Steve's base, but, as well as never being able to live it down, that would ruin the only shelter they had left. Only to be used as a last resort.

Besides, he'd really rather not put Heather in danger again.

Null appeared beside him and swung at his head, but Herobrine ducked beneath the blade and landed a solid blow across his stomach. Null growled and tossed an Ender pearl behind him, appearing 20 feet away.

"**Get reinforcements."** He ordered, and the Enderman vanished. Herobrine considered trying to teleport back while he was gone, but decided the danger of being tracked was too great and stayed put, eating another steak to regain some more of his health. A moment later, another group of Endermen appeared, each accompanied by a skeleton. Immediately, Herobrine threw up an obsidian shield as they fired and waited for the sound of the arrows hitting the stone.

It didn't come.

He waited a few ticks, then moved from behind his shield to see Notch standing between him and Null, all the arrows frozen in the air between them. The older man moved his hand, and the arrows flew back towards their origin, flying through the skeletons and killing them upon contact. Looping around, the arrows shot towards the Endermen as well, but they vanished - one of them taking Null with him. Notch lowered his hand, and the arrows dropped to the ground before he turned to raise an eyebrow at Herobrine.

"Where have you been?"

"I went to look for a friend." Herobrine disassembled his shield, stacking the obsidian in his inventory. "You came back?"

"My steward was quite insistent that you be brought back safely." Notch glanced at the remains of the arrow sticking out of his chest. "Let me remove that." He took a step towards him, but Herobrine took a matching one away. "Oh come on, what did I just say?" The nether king stared at him contemplatively for a few moments, then gave him a single nod and stepped towards him. Notch reached out and touched the broken shaft, and immediately it vanished, the uncomfortable feeling in his chest disappearing.

"Thank you." Herobrine told him blankly, not allowing any emotion into his voice. "Null can track teleportation, which is why I could not escape."

"Come, I don't leave the same traces that you do." Notch offered him a hand, and Herobrine gave him a cold look before accepting it. A moment later, the pair vanished in golden sparks and the countryside fell still once more.

* * *

**friendship? mayhaps?**

**~FFF**


	24. Chapter 24

**so you're actually caught up now, I haven't written past this. so now you gotta wait for me to actually write. barbaric, I know.**

* * *

Steve tipped back his mug of apple cider, then plunked it down on the table.

"So." He stated. "How can we kill someone who won't die?"

"Good question." Heather gave his mug another suspicious look before placing her chin in her hand. "The easy answer is 'we can't', but we can't exactly accept that answer." Notch and Herobrine had returned with the unfortunate news that they had failed to break through Null's defenses, and needed a new plan to get rid of him. So far, they were coming up empty.

"If anyone can tell us that, it should be him." Her husband glanced at Notch, across the room from him. Even though they had agreed that Notch had saved his life, they still were fairly cold to each other. "And yet…"

"And yet I've never had to kill one of my creations who had grown nearly as powerful as I am." Notch finished. "Or never been able to, anyway." He shot Herobrine a look. They really need to chill.

"So…" Heather drummed her fingers on the table. "What if we really can't kill him? What if there's absolutely no way?"

"We could try and trick him into lowering his defenses?" Steve suggested. "I'm not sure how, but we could give it a shot."

"It's possible, but he's clever. It would take a lot to trick him." Herobrine pointed out. "At least, as far as I can tell."

"Maybe we could trap him?" Heather asked. "Like in a Nether Portal?"

"Trap him?" Notch echoed. "He can just summon an Enderman to take him out of the Nether, even if we broke the portal."

"No, in the portal itself." She clarified. "Y'know, if you go through a Nether Portal and the exit is blocked, you can't interact with blocks. He'd be stuck." The other three stared at her blankly. "You guys don't know about that?"

"I've read about it online," Herobrine said slowly. "But I've never tried it for myself. I thought it was a myth."

"Herobrine, _you're _a myth."

"I suppose."

"Anyway, I've done it before by accident. I ruined one of my worlds like that once." She made a face. "So if we lure him through a portal, then block up the exit before he can get out, he'll hopefully be stuck."

"We can give it a try, I suppose." Notch rubbed his beard. "An Enderman still may be able to take him out, but we can try. Steve, I assume you have obsidian?"

"Plenty."

"Get enough for a Nether Portal, please, and we can set our trap."

* * *

This was the second time Herobrine had shown up in his base in the last 24 hours.

Null watched from the shadows as Herobrine spoke with his wife - Heathen, or something, - as they stood in the dark tunnel. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but their conversation sounded heated, angry whispers echoing down the hall towards him. Clearly something was going on, he'd returned to his base and brought his wife with him. He wasn't abandoning her…? From the blind affection he'd observed in the past, most likely not. So something had to be going on.

Sighing, Null gestured towards them, and a group of mobs emerged from the darkness to attack them. As soon as the first arrow flew, Herobrine grabbed his wife and vanished. Null snapped his fingers to summon an Enderman to his side, and it teleported him down the hall after him. They hadn't gone far, just down the next tunnel, and their heated conversation was louder now. Herobrine took his wife's hand, and they headed down the tunnel in the opposite direction together. Null signaled his Enderman and followed.

There was a Nether portal there, at the end of the tunnel. What was the purpose of that? Did he think he couldn't follow him through? Maybe he planned to destroy it from the other side - but this didn't make sense. Why would he come here just to run away? He had to realize that he did not frequently leave his base, why would he come knowing that Null would be here to stop him?

Whatever. An opportunity was an opportunity.

Gesturing to his escort, Null was teleported between them and their portal and charged, drawing his sword and swinging it at the girl's head. Herobrine shoved her out of the way and caught the blow with his pick, hooking his blade and trying to yank it out of his hand, but Null planted his foot and pulled free.

"Get into the portal." Herobrine snapped, placing himself between Null and his wife.

"But-" The girl started, but he interrupted,

"I said _go_." Null hurled his sword in her direction to encourage her, and she let out a shriek as it hit the wall beside her, running for the portal and vanishing inside. Drawing another sword, Null blocked as Herobrine swung at him again and gestured for the Enderman to get backup. Just in case. It wasn't like _he_ had to worry about dying, after all.

"**So.**" Null spoke up conversationally. "**You're back.**" Herobrine didn't answer, eyes narrowed into slits. "**Not in the mood? Alright then.**" Drawing another sword, Null caught his pick with one and stabbed at his shoulder with the other. Herobrine dodged, but suffered a gash in his upper arm. He teleported back a couple of feet, then forwards, right in front of the portal, and jumped inside. Null rolls his eyes and followed, jumping into the portal a moment after he disappeared.

He teleported to the other end, and moved to step out, but hit a solid wall.

Frowning, he pressed his hand to the surface. It was rough. Bedrock?

Turning around, he touched the other side, but it was blocked with bedrock as well. The sound of the portal was roaring in his ears, but he wasn't being transported back through. A bug…?

He had to break the frame, so that he could replace it and be sent back through. He was trapped in here. Null reached out to break the obsidian, but it didn't budge. No matter how he tried to hit it, it wouldn't even crack. What the ****?!

He snapped his fingers, trying to summon an Enderman to get him out, but nothing happened. He was trapped there, in the darkness. He couldn't even draw a weapon to kill himself, he was frozen here, in this tiny gap between two layers of bedrock.

Null could hear voices outside, all familiar. One of them…

"_**Notch!**_" He roared. "**You never struck me as such a coward!**"

"No, I don't believe I even had the pleasure of meeting you." The god's response came, muffled through the stone. "And now I never will. What a shame."

"**Free me from this prison.**" Null snarled. "**Or so help me, when I escape, I will start with you.**"

"Oh, you won't be escaping. And you plan to kill me anyway, I see no reason to help you." A sigh. "Although, I suppose I'll need a new mob engine now."

"**I still control the mobs. You can't break my control over this world.**"

"Oh? I own you and all that is under your reign. If I cannot change your code, I'll simply change all the mobs'."

"**You can't keep me trapped in here forever**."

"Well, when you escape, let me know." A muffled sound of teleportation made its' way through the walls of his prison, and Null slammed his fists against the bedrock.

"_**NOTCH!**_" No response. Sinking to his knees, Null pressed a hand to the obsidian frame. He would escape, of that he had no doubt. Until then, though, he could only imagine the revenge he will wreak upon Notch and his brother.

* * *

**only good things can come from this**

**~FFF**


	25. Chapter 25

**review replies:**

**Mayor of Ninjago City: I love it when the protag actually gets to do something useful**

**GiggiEba: Mmm... he def feels pain, although he doesn't really react to it, but idk about nausea. I don't know if that was coded into him. There is the nausea effect, but that just makes his vision swirl, which he's already dealing with yeah. Regardless, he's not comfortable in there.**

* * *

With Null gone, Heather could go home.

...not back on Earth, not to her real home. Herobrine didn't mention it, so she didn't bring it up. She felt like he'd be even less likely than before to put her back now, since he'd gotten attached to her.

But since Null was trapped, his army dispersed, and a bunch of them went back to following Herobrine. He took Heather back to his mansion in the Nether, which was in ruins, but with the help of the Endermen it got rebuilt fairly quickly. Notch vanished for a little while to rewrite some mobs, and Steve hung out at their mansion for a few days while Heather settled back into not constantly having to run for her life.

She moved back into her old room, which was slightly worse for wear due to creepers, and went back to her old routine of doing nothing all the time. Herobrine spent a lot more time with her, mostly because he didn't have to worry about defending his life anymore.

But it still wasn't like it used to be. Not with Manfred gone.

Heather still wasn't really sure what was going to happen to her. Herobrine had admitted a while ago that using her as a playing piece hadn't worked out, and now even if it had, there was no need for her. She felt lost, and lonely, even with Steve and Herobrine spending time with her. She liked them both, but she was getting homesick again. She missed her parents and friends.

What was she supposed to do with her life now?

* * *

"I've reworked every mob's AI, and restored an old version of Null - with some added failsafes to keep this from happening again." Notch reported. "Null should have no control over this world now."

"Very good." Herobrine tightened his fingers almost imperceptibly around Heather's hand. "His armies have already began to break up, and should not have any influence on the player base."

"I assume Steve has returned to his duties?"

"If by that you mean returned to his base, then no, not yet." Herobrine responded. "And I assume you will return to your own hideout soon enough?"

"Shortly, yes." Notch straightened up, crossing the room towards the table Heather and her husband were seated at. "I've noticed that the two of you seem to have come to an agreement."

"We have no reason to fight. Our battle was born from misunderstanding, I see no reason to continue it now that we have a chance at peace."

"I see. In that case…" Notch held out a hand towards him. "As long as we are not bothering the other, I see no reason for us to be enemies, B- Herobrine. Allies?" Herobrine stared at the hand for a few moments, then finally nodded, pushing his chair back and letting go of Heather's hand as he stood to take it.

"Alli-"

Herobrine was cut off as a flash of light hit him, and he was thrown backwards across the room into the wall.

"HEROBRINE!" Heather cried out, shoving her chair back and scrambling to his side. His hand was scorched where Notch had touched him. "What did you do?!" She demanded, whirling around towards Notch - only to find him standing over her, a sword in his hand.

"Move out of the way."

"No, what the ****?!" Herobrine grabbed her arm, and the two of them teleported to the other side of the room, away from Notch. Herobrine got to his feet, pulling her up with him, but his hands were shaking.

"I never should have trusted you." He growled.

"No, you shouldn't." Notch's voice was just as cold as when he was speaking to Null, and Heather shivered. "I'm surprised you did at all."

"Get out of my house."

"I don't think I will." Notch appeared in front of them in a burst of golden light, and Heather pressed herself into Herobrine's side with a yelp. Her husband wrapped one arm around her and lifted up the other, electricity glowing in his palm. A warning to back off. Notch didn't even flinch, swinging his sword at Herobrine's head, and he teleported away with her just in time.

"Get out, now." He shoved Heather towards the door, and she stumbled to catch her balance.

"Wh- no, I don't want to-"

"It will be easier to fight him if I don't have to worry about you getting hurt." She hesitated, then whirled around to leave, only to run straight into Notch behind her. He grabbed her shoulders, and a scream ripped itself from her throat as white-hot pain overwhelmed her senses.

"_Notch!_" The hands abruptly left her shoulders, and Heather crumpled at the sudden lack of support. She hit something soft, and immediately the floor shifted underneath her. "You are a hypocrite and a liar!" Herobrine was shouting. "You claim to work for the good of your _beloved _players, and yet you attack one who has done _nothing _to you!"

"The needs of the one are outweighed by the needs of the many." Was Notch's response. "If she must die to get rid of you, then so be it." Tears sprung to her eyes at the realization that Notch could and _would _kill her.

"Heather!" A yell came from the doorway, and she blinked up through the tears to see Steve standing there, eyes wide with horror. "Notch, you aren't- you didn't-"

"Bryn has been allowed to gain power for too long." Notch gestured to her husband with one glowing hand. "It's time to put an end to him."

"No, Notch, listen!" Steve ran into the room, placing himself between Notch and the two of them with his arms outstretched to either side. "Please, you don't have to do this. He won't hurt anyone. And Heather is a kid, you can't just-!"

"Eclipse." Steve froze, and his arms fell to his sides. Heather stared. What just-?! "Eclipse." Notch repeated, and Steve shifted, lifting his head and looking around the room. His mouth opened, then closed, and finally he spoke.

"Who are you? What is this place?"

"STEVE!" Heather cried out, causing him to whirl around in surprise at her voice. "You son of a- What did you _do_?!"

"My name is Notch. I am the creator of you and this world." Notch pointed to her and her husband. "Those two are a danger to this world, which you are sworn to protect. Kill them."

"Very well."

"No, Steve, please-" Heather stammered out through her tears, which began to escape down her cheeks as Steve drew his sword and started towards them. "Please, we're your friends, please-" The room vanished, and Herobrine scooped her up in his arms, standing up and striding down the hallway she found herself inside. "Wh-what-"

"It's okay." His voice was uncharacteristically soft. "I won't let them hurt you any more."

"H-he did something, did he erase his m-memories?"

"I don't know. It looks like it." Heather's vision blurred with tears once more, and she tried to muffle a sob. "I'm sorry."

A flash of light blinded her for a split second, and suddenly Steve was in front of them, charging down the hallway with his sword drawn. Heather could only manage a strangled cry before a bolt of lightning struck him and he died, green and yellow sparkles floating down to the ground. Herobrine kept walking.

"Wh-where are we-?"

"Notch can track us anywhere in this world." Herobrine's voice was barely over a whisper. "I'm taking you to safety."

"Wh- what's-"

"Stay quiet. You're hurt." She could still feel the aftereffects of the scorching feeling on her skin, but the worst pain was the one in her chest. Steve was gone.

Herobrine carried her up a flight of stairs, then shifted her to his shoulder as he leaned down and took a potion from a chest. He drank it, then tossed the bottle away and let it shatter on the brick floor. "This may feel a bit odd." He warned her, then wrapped both arms around her, and she buried her face in his shoulder as a roaring noise sounded in her ears.

The roaring stopped, and the air felt suddenly cooler. Blinking the tears from her eyes, Heather lifted her face to see where she'd gone. Daylight shone through glass windows onto a carpeted floor, illuminating a discarded textbook with a fine layer of dust atop it.

Business math.

Her room.

She was home.

* * *

**hmm**

**~FFF**


	26. Chapter 26

"H-Herobrine?" Heather stammered out, blinking around at her surroundings. It looked exactly like it had when she left, about two months ago. "What are-"

"Notch won't be able to track you here." Herobrine stood, lifting her up and laying her down on the bed. "Goodbye."

"Wait- _what?!_" She grabbed his hand with both of hers as he tried to pull away, pulling herself upright on the mattress. "You're just leaving me here?" Despite her homesickness, the thought of losing Herobrine now was somehow even more painful.

"Yes."

"Why?! Why don't-"

"Heather, it's not safe. I planned to bring you home after everything had calmed down, but I was too slow. I'm sorry." He tried to tug his hand away, but she held on tight.

"You- Steve told me that going between worlds takes a lot of power. If you go back now, he'll kill you! Why did you waste so much power bringing me home?!"

"Because I love you." Heather froze as he knelt down, cupping her cheek in his free hand. "He was always going to kill me eventually, and because you were associated with me he would kill you too. I'm sorry I put you through all of that. But you're home now. You'll be safe here."

"You're- you're just going to go back and let him kill you?!"

"Yes."

"You _can't!_" She couldn't identify all the emotions swirling through her, but one of the strongest was sorrow. "If he'll k-kill you if you go back, then don't! Stay with me!" Herobrine smiled.

"I would never fit in in this world. Besides, Notch will find his way here eventually, and will destroy you to get to me. This is the only way to ensure you are safe."

"But you'll die!"

"Everyone dies eventually. I should have a long time ago."

"But I don't want to lose you too! I already lost Steve and Manfred, if- if you die I'll have lost everyone I met there!"

"Perhaps it's better if it's like it never happened."

"No it's not! I care about you too much!" Herobrine chuckled.

"I appreciate that. But your safety is more important. You're real, after all. I'm not."

"You're just-!"

"Goodbye, Heather." Herobrine gently pulled his hand from her grip, pulling away.

Heather grabbed his face with both hands and pressed her lips against his.

Herobrine didn't move for a moment, then leaned into the kiss, placing one hand on the back of her neck as gently as he could. She held the kiss for a couple seconds longer before running out of breath and pulling away, and she opened her eyes for a moment to meet his through her ever-present tears.

She could feel the stubble on his face against her fingers, still holding him, and the roughness of his palm against the back of her neck. She opened her mouth to speak, but, unexpectedly, Herobrine leaned forward and kissed her again. She dropped her hands to his shoulders, wrapping one arm around his neck to brace herself as her eyes fell shut again.

Another few seconds passed before he broke the kiss, pressing his forehead against hers.

"You are real." Heather whispered stubbornly. "You're real, and whole, and you deserve to be alive just as much as I do. As much as Notch."

"If it were at all possible for me to stay with you, my love," He began softly, and she felt a blush creep over her face. "Then I would do it. But I can't let him kill you."

"And I can't let him kill _you!_" She reached up to rub the tears off her face. "I don't care what happens to us. I want to go back with you."

"No."

"Herobrine!" She protested, fresh tears springing to her eyes, and he sighed and pulled her into his arms. Heather threw her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder and squeezing him tight. She wasn't letting him go.

"I have to go back." He murmured.

"Then take me with you."

"You'd be killed."

"I'd rather die with you than live knowing I let you w-walk into a death trap and did nothing." She snapped back. And it's true. It's stupid and dramatic, but it's true.

"I can't let you be put in danger again. I love you too much." She squeezed him harder, and stammered out,

"W-well how do you think I feel? I l-love you too, and y-you're gonna let him kill you." Herobrine let out a breathless laugh.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Just d-don't go."

"I can't stay long. Time passes much quicker inside the game, hours will have gone by already. The longer I stay, the more time Notch has to come after me."

"I'm n-not letting you go back alone."

"Heather…"

"There has to be something y-you can do." She pushed herself away, looking up to meet his eyes. "Some way you could beat him, e-even just hide from him."

"Notch is the ruler of the world. I can't even lift a finger to him. A long time ago, when he created me, he was weaker and I managed to escape. Now…"

"M-maybe you can talk to him."

"We've already seen how well that works. He is convinced that I am little more than a bug that needs to be erased."

"Then make him see that you're not!" She protested. "If you're a copy of his code, he has to have feelings too, r-right? Let me talk to him. I can try to convince him."

"He won't listen."

"Please?" Heather wrapped her arms around his neck again, burying her face in his shirt. "Just let me try. You're his main target, y-you can keep me safe while I try to talk to him." He didn't answer for a few moments. "Please."

"Very well." He answered at last.

"Thank you." She gave him a squeeze, and he sighed, shifting forward to lean on the bed. "S-stay for a little while, okay? Notch can wait a little while. Y-you need to build up more energy."

"You're right. I'll stay." Herobrine murmured in agreement. "Ten minutes."

"O-okay." Ten minutes to think of an argument to save his life. Her head was still spinning and her heart was beating like a drum, there were too many emotions in her mind right now. All she could do was hold Herobrine tight and pray that she could keep him safe.

* * *

**~FFF**


	27. Chapter 27

**so originally this and the next chapter were one, but I split them up cause they got so gosh dang long. excuse the slightly awkward transition while I edit the next one.**

**review replies:**

**Mayor of Ninjago City: yAY**

**JustAFemaleGeek: ay mood**

**GiggiEba: "steamy" this is a PURE minecraft fanfiction also im sorry you had to wait so long. this took forever to write.**

**bookkeeper: AY THANK YOU :D**

**rwbygirl: hA I didnt think about that this way till now thanks**

* * *

"It's about time you returned." Heather shuddered at the voice, lifting her face from Herobrine's shoulder to find herself in an unfamiliar place. The sky was black, with golden lights streaking across it, and underneath her was a stone brick platform. After the platform ended, there was nothing. Only the void.

Herobrine stood, helping her up with him, and she turned to face Notch. The self-proclaimed god was hovering over the ground in the center of the platform, golden light dancing around his figure. His face was a stark contrast to the heavenly light that surrounded him- dark. Murderous. Ready for a final battle.

"Where are we?" Heather hissed to her husband, but Notch answered.

"I took the liberty of storing the Minecraft world away for a little while, so that I could find you easily when you inevitably came crawling back." He gave her a less-than-impressed look. "I'm surprised you kept her, though." Herobrine didn't answer. Clearing her throat, Heather stepped away from her husband, though he kept one hand on her shoulder.

"Notch, I want to talk to you."

"I'm not interested."

"Then I'm gonna talk _at _you." She jabbed a finger at him. "What's your deal with Herobrine? I've heard about the whole 'he's dangerous and we need to destroy him' thing, but _why_ do you think that? He's never attacked anyone except in self-defense, are you just mad that he organized the mobs?"

"Bryn has attacked my stewards on several occasions, and he refuses to obey my commands." Was Notch's flat response. "He could have let me finish him, perfect him, and he would be welcome to live in my world. He refused, and I cannot have an uncontrollable being running free in my realm."

"That's a dumb reason!" She paused. Probably not a great idea to deliberately anger him. "Just because he has free will means you have to kill him? What about me? What about any of the players? You can't control them, but you let them play as much as they want!"

"The players are bound to a firm set of rules they must adhere to. Rules that you broke when you entered the game." Notch summoned a sword in his hand, and teleported in front of them with a flash. He started to swing as Heather recoiled, but Herobrine teleported the two of them to the opposite side of the platform. She bit her lip, taking a step back and clinging to his arm.

"Well it's not like Herobrine is all-powerful. Just 'cause he can talk to mobs and teleport doesn't make him a danger. And, again, he hasn't even bothered the players who are supposed to be your priority!" She took a breath. "A-and, you said you needed to 'perfect' him, but he doesn't need changed! Just because he's not undyingly loyal to you doesn't mean there's something inherently wrong with him!"

"There is, because I _created_ him. He was formed with a purpose in mind, and he is not prepared nor willing to achieve it. He is an outdated relic from an old update who has long been replaced. He is a mistake, he should _not_ exist, and…" Notch teleported closer, just out of range of attack. "He will very soon be _removed._"

Herobrine drew his pick, swinging it just in time to catch the edge of Notch's blade as he attacked. Pulling his arm out of Heather's grip, he stepped forward, trying to wrench Notch's weapon out of his hand, but his opponent slipped free and took a step back.

"You must realize you cannot beat me."

"I don't care about beating you." Herobrine responded icily. "All I want is for you to leave me alone. I'm not asking for my original form restored, or godlike powers. I just want to live in this world in peace." Heather edged closer to her husband. She couldn't physically do anything to help, but she had to try and support him somehow.

"And why should I grant you that?" Notch sneered, swinging his sword again, but Herobrine ducked under it with ease. "You have been nothing but a thorn in my side for thousands of years."

"I never did _anything _to you!" Herobrine snapped, teleporting out of range as Notch swung again. "All I wanted to do was to learn! To explore your world, free of cares or worries!" Tightening his grip on his pick, he attacked Notch, driving him back with a slash at his shoulder. Notch deflected it. "But you- _you _couldn't stand the thought of an _imperfect _being in your beautiful world. Couldn't stand the thought of something being out of your control."

"I created you!" Notch snarled, summoning golden arrows in the air behind him, and Herobrine raised a shield just in time to catch them. "You belong to me!"

"I belong to _no one!_" Another flock of arrows appeared, and this time they flew at Heather. She didn't even have time to cry out, though, before Herobrine appeared in front of her and struck them out of the air. "You claim to be so sure of your victory, but resort to attacking an innocent? Coward."

"I would hardly say she's innocent."

"Notch!" Heather interrupted. "Do you _really_ believe that Herobrine is a danger, or can you just not stand him because of your own ego?"

That was not the right thing to say, as Notch's eyes burned with hatred and arrows filled the air around him.

"You're mad because I'm right!" She yelled before an obsidian shelter appeared around her and her husband. She heard arrows striking the stone, and the obsidian began to crack in the light of Herobrine's eyes. That wasn't good.

When the sounds stopped, Herobrine lifted a hand and the blocks returned to his inventory. Notch no longer had a sword, but a hammer, big enough that Heather was surprised he could wield it with such ease. Apparently he'd decided that blunt force would be more effective.

Herobrine built a small, obsidian wall, two blocks high, before drawing his pick. "Stay here." He ordered before turning back to Notch.

"Why are you still trying?" Notch scoffed as Heather got behind the shelter, a grin on his face that was clearly fake. He was angry. "I am immortal. _You_ are hardcore. One wrong move, and you're _gone._"

"Would you prefer I lie down and die?" Herobrine taunted. "It's not as if I'll be any less dead if I surrender. Why? Do you think you're going to lose?" Letting out a yell, Notch threw himself at his opponent, and Heather clapped a hand over her mouth as his glowing hammer missed Herobrine's head by a hair.

Herobrine followed up with a swing at his throat, and Notch jerked back to avoid it, swinging his hammer again. Herobrine tried to block it, but his smaller, lighter weapon did almost nothing to cushion the blow, and he was thrown back a good ten feet by the impact before skidding to the ground behind Heather.

He wasn't moving, and Notch was heading towards him, so she scrambled out from behind her shelter to distract him. His gaze locked on her, but he didn't slow down, and Heather edged back a couple of inches as he approached.

"Tell me, little one," He stopped a few inches away, peering down at her. "You are the only human other than my creator who I have ever personally met. I have always wondered, how does it feel?"

"H-how does what feel?" She accepted the obvious bait, hoping it would buy Herobrine a few more seconds to recover.

"To be shattered. Crushed. Ripped apart, destroyed. _Pain._ I only feel a mockery of it, after all." He lifted his hammer over his shoulder, and she flinched away. "Speak up! Soon enough you won't be able to tell me anymore."

A hand grabbed her arm, and Herobrine teleported them both to the other side of the platform.

Letting out a breath, Heather turned to face him, only for her eyes to fly open in shock at the sight of his own pick, buried in his stomach. It must have stabbed into him when Notch struck him. Blood soaked the cloth around it, and covered both his hands. His mouth was tight.

"Had enough yet?" Notch called over. "Give up now, and I may even allow your precious girlfriend to live."

"Heather is my _wife._" Herobrine snapped, but his voice was strained. Taking the handle of the pick in his hands, he yanked it out, and Heather's hands flew to her mouth as the flow of blood picked up speed.

"Herobrine-!"

"It's alright." A potion appeared in his hand, and he took it. The bleeding slowed a bit. Taking his bloodstained weapon, he extended the blade towards his opponent. Notch took it as an invitation to attack, and jumped through space, Herobrine shoving Heather away as Notch slammed into him.

Heather fell backwards onto the stone, landing hard, but her attention was on Herobrine, who had teleported behind Notch and slammed his pick into his shoulder. Notch let out a roar as blood began to stain his clothing, spinning around with his hammer outstretched, but Herobrine had already teleported behind him again and slashed at his arm.

Notch's grip on his hammer faltered as Herobrine's strike landed, and it flew from his hands, clattering to the stone 30 feet away. Snaking an arm around his neck, Herobrine yanked Notch back, forcing him to his knees as he pressed the blade of his pick to his enemy's throat.

"Had enough yet?" Herobrine hissed into his ear. "I am _not_ your puppet, and I am _not_ your property. You may have created me, but you forfeit your claim to my loyalties when you tried to take away my free will. I am my own being, with my own life, and I have the _right_ to live free in your world. If you cannot accept that, then I will kill you, over, and over, and _over_ again until you have had it beaten into you." Notch didn't give any sort of response, but his eyes betrayed his rage.

When he didn't respond, Herobrine dug the blade of his pick into his throat, and Notch vanished in a shower of sparks.

Immediately, Heather scrambled to her feet, running to Herobrine and wrapping her arms tightly around his chest. He let out a wheezing sound, and she loosened her grip, looking up as he sunk to the ground next to her. Pressing his forearm over the wound in his stomach, he wrapped his other arm around her, pulling her close to nestle into his side. For a few moments, the void was silent.

Then Notch reappeared in the center of the platform, his body reformed good as new.

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**in this house we reject notch as our lord and savior**

**~FFF**


	28. Chapter 28

**review replies:**

**arianna: whAT no I never do that**

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"Did you think this was over?" Notch snarled as Herobrine scrambled to his feet, taking a defensive stance. "I told you, I am immortal. Even if I only hit you once for every time you kill me, I will still come out on top eventually. You _cannot _win."

"Maybe not, but I'm not going down without a fight." Herobrine reached out with his free hand, gently pushing Heather away. "Stay away from me, understand?" She gave him a wordless nod. She wanted to help, but they don't have time to argue.

Notch's hammer reappeared in his hand, and he teleported abruptly into range, swinging the heavy weapon at her husband's head. Herobrine teleported behind him, attacking him from behind, but Notch followed through with his swing and Herobrine was forced to teleport again to safety.

"I don't understand your conviction!" Notch yelled, teleporting close again to attack. "Why do you continue to fight me? You know you're going to lose! What can you gain from dragging this out?!"

"You don't understand because you are not _mortal._ Death is little more than an inconvenience for you. You've said it yourself, if I die, I'm gone for good. I _can't_ just give up and let it happen." Herobrine slashed his arm open, and Notch stumbled back with a yell.

"But why is the extra effort worth it?"

"Because I'll be _dead!_" Herobrine sighed, teleporting behind him and digging his pick into his back. "You're the ruler of the world. You'll never understand what it feels like to be like me." He twisted his pick, and Notch died again. Herobrine's shoulders slumped, and his pick fell to his side as Notch's body shattered into a million pieces.

"He's going to kill us both, isn't he?" He looked up at Heather's voice, and his blank eyes confirmed it for her.

"Yes." His pick disappearing into his inventory, he made his way across the platform towards her. "He's right. Our fight will go on for eternity, until I'm dead, and after this… he will not spare your life." Reaching Heather, he got down to her level and wrapped his arms tightly around her. "I'm so sorry. I don't have the power left to bring you home."

"I don't want to go home." Heather's head was buzzing as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her forehead against his shoulder. Adrenaline was pumping through her, but every instinct she had was telling her to stay. That she didn't want to leave now.

"How sweet." Heather's head jerked up at Notch's voice, and she spotted him standing in the center of the platform again. "One last embrace for the star-crossed lovers." Herobrine glowered at him over his wife's shoulder, then pulled away, standing and drawing his pick. "No retort?"

"Why should I waste my breath?" Notch scoffed, then drew a sword again. He must have figured out that the hammer wasn't working for him. Herobrine took the initiative this time and attacked, probably not wanting Notch to be able to set the tone of the fight, and nearly knocked his sword out of his grip before his opponent could realize what was happening.

Reeling from the blow, Notch drew a second sword and struck back, forcing Herobrine back and landing a blow on his right arm. Herobrine switched his pick to his left before attacking again. He was slower, though, than he was before. He was getting weaker. He might not beat Notch again.

Notch spun around to gain momentum and slammed his main sword into Herobrine's pick, causing him to stumble back, then followed up with a slash at his head. Herobrine ducked it and struck at his knees, forcing Notch to retreat a few feet. Arrows appeared in the air around them, and Herobrine lifted his shield to catch them as they flew.

The moment he lowered it, Notch appeared in front of him, slicing through his shoulder and chopping his left arm off.

Herobrine cried out, teleporting a few feet back and clutching his bleeding shoulder. Heather was frozen, eyes open wide as they'd go, hands pressed over her mouth. He's going to kill him. Her husband sunk to his knees, pressing his hand to the stump in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Notch laughed, a frantic sound.

"Now I have you." Letting go of his shoulder, Herobrine snatched up his pickaxe, and teleported behind Notch to attack him again. Notch saw it coming, and spun around, slamming the hilt of his sword into his opponent's head. Herobrine stumbled back, and Notch buried his sword up to the hilt in his stomach. He fell.

"No!" Heather gasped out as he teleported farther away, slumping down on the stone. Blood was spreading quickly on the stones around him, collecting in the grooves between the bricks. He's not going to survive.

"Any last words?" Notch roared, stalking towards his prey. She could see her husband's mouth moving, but she couldn't make out the words from so far away.

Heather didn't even realize she was running until she registered Herobrine shouting for her to stay away. She could barely hear it through her heart pounding in her ears. Skidding to a stop between him and Notch, she threw her hands out to her sides, yelling,

"Notch, _stop!_" He stopped. Raising one eyebrow, he stared down at her, twirling the bloodstained sword in his hand.

"And why, pray tell, should I do that?"

"You don't have to do this." She told him desperately. "Just let him go. He won't bother you, he never has."

"We've been over this, little one, and I've told you already why he must be eliminated. Why are you continuing to fight me?"

"I can't just let you kill him!" Tears sprung to her eyes, and she tried and failed to blink them away. "Please, Notch, _please._ He was made from you, wasn't he? He's _you. _And if- if he can feel this much, so can you!" Sinking to her knees, she bowed her head, clasping her hands to her heart. "I can't o-offer you anything, I'm just a kid, but I'll do _anything._ Just _please_, let him go." The tears escaped her eyes and flowed down her cheeks, dripping onto the stones beneath her. "Please."

Notch was silent, and Heather didn't dare look up. She could hear Herobrine behind her, his breaths loud and rasping, but she couldn't turn around. Couldn't move an inch. Silent and still on the stones.

Finally, she heard a sigh, and movement in front of her, and she blinked her eyes open to see Notch kneeling to her level.

"Very well." Her heart jumped into her throat, and she jerked up to look at him. Was he…? Lifting a hand towards her husband, Notch began to glow, and Heather turned to see Herobrine's body begin to knit itself together.

"Y-you…" she stammered, and Notch chuckled.

"...have been overreacting? Perhaps so." He stood, waving a hand, and the void was replaced by a plains biome in a splash of color. "Get him out of my sight." Scrambling to her feet, Heather turned, running to her husband and falling to her knees beside him. The sword was gone, and he was rapidly healing, his arm regenerating in a shower of golden sparks. She spun to look at Notch, who was walking away.

"W-wait!" She called out before she could think better of it. Notch stopped, but didn't turn. "W-what about Steve? Is he okay?" The man was silent for a few moments.

"I placed him in stasis along with the world, but he should have regenerated with it. And…" Notch lifted his hand, and a text box appeared with enchanting table text in it. He swiped upwards, and all the text disappeared. "I've restored his memory."

"Th-thank you." Notch nodded, then disappeared. Heather swiveled to look at Herobrine again, and found him pushing himself up with his right arm to examine his newly-functional left. He met her eyes, and Heather threw her arms around him.

"This makes it twice now that you've saved my life." He murmured as she buried her face in his shirt, holding his wife tight with one hand and entangling the other in her golden hair.

"T-to be fair, my life w-was on the line both times too."

"Still. I can't believe we're alive."

"Me either." Heather admitted. "I love you."

"I love you too." She rested her cheek on his shoulder, feeling the last of her adrenaline rush fade away and be replaced with heavy relief. At least for now, Notch was letting them go. They were safe.

Neither of them moved until the sound of an Enderman's teleport broke the silence, and Heather turned to see who was there - only to let out a cry of joy as a familiar trill greeted her.

"MANFRED!"

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**good news guys you don't have to stab me in my sleep**

**~FFF**


	29. Chapter 29

**when ur big battle scene only gets 2 reviews :( thanks you two ily**

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Herobrine, Steve, and Manfred were safe, and that's all that mattered.

A week had passed since the battle with Notch, and no one had seen him since, apparently he'd retreated to his home base to sulk or whatever. Herobrine had been fully healed after the fight, and they found Steve back in his base. Manfred, apparently, had respawned with no memory after Null killed him, but, while restoring Steve's, Notch had restored a few other random mobs as well - including Manfred.

Heather went back in Herobrine's Nether mansion again, this time with Manfred. Almost all the homesickness was gone, she was perfectly happy with her husband and friends.

It wasn't home. She still remembered and longed for her family and friends back on Earth. But she didn't want to leave, she felt as if she had more of a purpose here than back on Earth. Despite Heather's academic prowess, she never had very high hopes for the impact she could make on the world, but here… she could, and had, saved _lives_.

Besides, it was SO much more interesting than on Earth. Why would she go back and go to school when she could hang out in a realm of magic and undead? And the world was infinite, there were plenty of places to explore and build.

With Herobrine watching over her, Heather didn't have to worry about money, or food, or safety, not to mention grades or classmates. If she was threatened, Herobrine dealt with it, but soon enough she was capable enough to handle herself. Steve and her husband decided pretty quickly that she should learn, due to the continued mob threat.

But that didn't worry her. After all, they were gonna learn pretty quickly not to threaten the Nether Queen.

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"Humans." Notch muttered, dragging a box of code from one menu to another. "I'm quite sick of them." Herobrine and his wife had been quiet since he let them go, but he was already regretting it. Now he had to deal with his existence for another millenia. He had better not push his luck, or so help him Notch would finish the job.

A beep sounded from the other side of the platform, and Notch crossed to examine it. A warning, unregistered code had been spotted in a savanna biome around -250000Y 627000Z. It could mean another mob was evolving, and he wasn't letting that happen again. So, with a sigh, Notch let his project be and transported himself to the area.

It was night, and he raised the brightness a bit so he could see. There was nothing obviously out of the ordinary, a flock of sheep grazed to his left among the acacia trees. Except…

Notch made his way over to a single grass block that glowed oddly, around which red particles floated lazily. He could detect a few odd readings coming off it - the source of the new code? Reaching down, he brushed his fingertips against the grass - only to stand up abruptly as he found himself back in his personal realm.

Alarms began to blare behind him, and he swiveled around, only to find the code he had been working on beginning to corrupt. He scrambled to quarantine it, locking it away and destroying it before it could escape. The alarms stopped, and he stepped back. What on earth had caused-?

Words popped up in front of him, and he took another step back, eyes narrowed into slits. None of the words stayed long enough for him to read them, letters rotating like reels in a slot machine, before the spinning slowed and three words finally came into view.

"MAKE A WISH"

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**yall know what time it is? that's right, it's The End**

**...nahhh this is way too good an ending. thats unrealistic. anyway hope you guys enjoyed this**

**~FFF**

**P.S. regular readers, ive started posting my OTTWCD minecraft story in the new doc. go check it out. it's vaguely interesting**


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